Washington’s economy decreased by an estimated 1,100 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in January and the monthly unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.3%. The state’s unemployment rate, at a high of 4.6% in May 2024, has slowly decreased the past six months and is .3 percentage points lower than it was s year ago.
Washington Employment Security Department Chief Labor Economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman says Washington’s labor market is still relatively strong, but growth has slowed over the past several months.
She added that recent federal government layoffs and several high-profile private industry layoffs won’t show up in the state’s labor market numbers for two or three months.
In the past 12 months, the state added 68,000 jobs — a 2.9% increase.
New employment data shows non-farm employment has decreased by 1,100 and government employment decreased by 700 in January. The largest one-month sector level gains in private industry were in construction, up 4,000, and leisure and hospitality, up 2,900.
Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 82,365 people in January, an increase of 12,245 over the previous month. Increases in paid claims in construction, manufacturing, and accommodation and food services contributed to the increase.
The national unemployment rate increased from 4.0% in December 2024 to 4.1% in January 2025. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for January 2024 was 3.7%.
