Washington’s unemployment rate remains at the lowest point in more than 5 years. During the first two months of 2014, the rate held steady at 6.4 percent, which was lower than the national rate of 6.7 percent for February.
The Employment Security Department (ESD) reported last week that job gains continue with an estimated 2,500 new jobs last month. ESD also revised the January figures, which were originally reported as 3,800 new jobs, actually turned out to be 5,800.
The unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the estimated number of unemployed people who have looked for work within the past four weeks by the total civilian labor force.
The job gains were mostly in business and professional services, retail, and financial activities, while we saw job losses in education and health services, construction, transportation,and the hospitality industry.
The ESD reports that with February’s job growth, Washington has added 54,400 jobs over the past year.
For more information, please check out the ESD February report.