Washington Added 24,100 Jobs In June As Economy Stabilized

OLYMPIA, WA — After somewhat stagnant growth in March, Washington employers added 24,100 jobs this June, nudging the state closer to pre-pandemic unemployment levels.

“The labor market recovery picked up some speed this month after slowing over the previous two months” said Paul Turek, economist for the Employment Security Department. “Job opportunities are rising as the economy reopens over the summer.”

For comparison, May 2021 saw employers add just 9,100 jobs, after adding 13,200 jobs in April and 27,000 jobs in March.

ESD job data shows that nine job sectors added more jobs in June, while just three contracted. The largest gains were in education and health services, which added 8,200 jobs statewide, and professional and business services, which added 5,600. Hospitality and government also added 4,100 positions each.

The largest loss was in the financial sector, which shrunk 700 jobs.

According to the ESD's latest unemployment data, Washington state paid unemployment benefits to 34,254 fewer people in June than in May, through the overall unemployment rate remains at roughly 5.2 percent.

The unemployment rate varies significantly by county, as expected. Asotin County clocked the lowest unemployment rate for June at 3.8 percent unemployment, below the state's pre-pandemic unemployment level. Pacific County had the highest unemployment 7.7 percent.

As for the state's three most populous counties: King had the lowest at 4.8 percent unemployment, followed by Snohomish with 5.5 percent and Pierce with 5.8 percent unemployment.

The statewide decrease in unemployment comes in contrast to the national unemployment rate, which grew from 5.8 percent in May to 5.9 percent in June. It also continues a trend of unemployment rates either improving or remaining stable for 15 straight months since April 2020, when unemployment in Washington peaked at 16.3 percent.

In June 2020 the national unemployment rate was 11.1 percent. Washington's was 10.8 percent.