Earlier this week, the Employment Security Department (ESD) reported that Washington’s unemployment rate has dropped half a percentage point since January. The 3,800 jobs added last month brings April’s rate down to 7 percent, the lowest point since December 2008, when it was 7.1 percent.
Scott Baily, an ESD economist said the state’s labor market is improving faster than the nation’s.
The sectors with the most job gains were:
- Retail trade, up 3,800
- Leisure and hospitality, up 1,600
- Professional and business services, up 1,500
- Other services, up 600
- Manufacturing, up 400
- Financial activities, up 300
So far, Washington has regained about 78 percent of the 205,000 jobs lost during the recession. For more information, get April’s employment report here.
Flanked by students, teachers and high-tech execs at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Gov. Inslee signed a bill by Rep. Drew Hansen this week that boosts computer-science education in Washington state to prepare ambitious teens for the 21st-century economy.
