OLYMPIA — Washington’s unemployment rate dipped slightly in September, but the state also had a net loss of 2,200 jobs from the previous month, state officials said Wednesday.
The newest numbers released by the Washington Employment Security Department show the jobless rate for September was 5.2 percent, down from August’s 5.3 percent. The national unemployment rate for September was 5.1 percent. Clark County jobless numbers will be reported next week.
Overall, four industries in the state expanded last month, seven contracted and two were unchanged. Professional and business services saw the biggest hit, down 3,900 jobs, with most of those losses occurring in administrative and support services. Other industries that saw a decrease were: financial activities, construction, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, retail trade, and mining and logging.
Information and government stayed static, while wholesale trade, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities, and other services all saw gains.
“Hiring across the state took a step backward in September, although forward momentum is still being sustained,” Paul Turek, a labor economist with the Employment Security Department, said in a statement. “Some adjustments in hiring appear to be occurring as employers start transitioning to the holiday season, and some may be due to new challenges presented by global economic conditions.”
Two different surveys are used to calculate unemployment figures and job losses and gains. The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively looking for work. People who have stopped looking for work aren’t counted. The job gains and losses estimates are based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of businesses.
The state has added an estimated 81,700 jobs since September 2014, with 71,900 of those jobs in the private sector and 9,800 in the public sector.
The number of people unemployed and actively looking for work in September was 184,400, and 52,431 people received unemployment benefits last month.
