Washington’s economy added an estimated 5,200 jobs (seasonally adjusted) and the monthly unemployment rate remained at 4.8% from March to April 2024.
“Job growth is still trending up, but overall growth has slowed in recent months as net employment – the difference between job gains and job losses – continues to increase in some industries and decrease in others,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief regional economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department. “Washington payrolls continue to increase, albeit at a slowing rate.”
Before staying put for the past two months, the unemployment rate had been slowly increasing. In summer 2023, Washington saw a record low of 3.6%.
Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 62,423 people in April, a decrease of 4,752 over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims in the following industries contributed to the decrease:
- Construction.
- Administrative and support.
- Waste management and remediation services.
Visit Employment Security’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for April 2024.
Updated state preliminary data for March 2024
- The preliminary estimated gain of 5,300 jobs was revised up to a gain of 8,400 jobs.
- The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate was confirmed at 4.8%.
National unemployment rate
The national unemployment rate increased from 3.8% in March to 3.9% in April. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for April 2023 was 3.4%.
Labor force showed little change
From March to April 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased from 193,275 to 194,705. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 73,298 to 75,067 over the same period.
The state’s labor force in April was 4,016,161 – a decrease of 3,631people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 4,203 people during the same period.
Labor force is defined as the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16. Layoffs and labor force participation are not necessarily connected. When people are laid off but still seeking work, they remain a part of the labor force. A drop in the labor force means people have left work and haven’t been actively seeking employment for more than four weeks.
Eight major industry sectors expanded, four contracted and one stayed the same from March to April
Private sector employment increased by 5,900 jobs from March to April. Government employment decreased by 700 jobs.
The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in construction (up 3,100 jobs), leisure and hospitality (up 1,500 jobs), and retail trade (up 1,100 jobs).
- All industries within the construction sector added jobs, with the largest gains coming in building construction, and heavy and civil engineering.
- Hiring in arts, entertainment and recreation industries led to the largest one-month gains in leisure and hospitality.
- Within retail trade, food and beverage stores recorded the largest employment gains.
The deepest losses were in professional and business services (down 2,700 jobs), as well as government and information (each down 700).
- All major groups within the professional and business services sector posted employment losses in April. Employment services – an industry that hires temporary workers on behalf of clients – was down 2,300 over the month.
- Government losses were concentrated in local government, not local educational services.
- Information sector losses included losses in software publishing.
Annual employment growth appears in three main areas
Washington gained an estimated 50,600 jobs from April 2023 to April 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment rose 1.1%, increasing by 31,900 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.2%, increasing by an estimated 18,700 jobs.
The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:
- Government, up 18,700 jobs.
- Education and health services, up 18,100 jobs.
- Transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 13,200 jobs.
The two industry sectors reporting employment losses year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:
- Information, down 8,900 jobs.
- Retail trade, down 3,700 jobs.
Table 1: Washington’s total jobs
| Month | Total jobs (losses or gains) | Unemployment rate | Previous year’s unemployment rate |
| April 2024 | +5,200 | 4.8& | 4.3% |
| March 2024 | +8,400* | 4.8% | 4.5% |
| February 2024 | +3,900* | 4.7% | 4.6% |
| January 2024 | -2,700* | 4.6%* | 4.6% |
| December 2023 | +18,500* | 4.2%* | 4.5% |
| November 2023 | +4,800* | 4.0%* | 4.6% |
| October 2023 | -6,900* | 3.8%* | 4.6% |
| September 2023 | +300 * | 3.6%* | 4.4% |
| August 2023 | +2,500* | 3.6%* | 4.3% |
| July 2023 | -6,300* | 3.6%* | 4.1% |
| June 2023 | +17,300* | 3.8%* | 3.9% |
| May 2023 | +3,800* | 4.1%* | 3.9% |
| April 2023 | +7,700* | 4.3%* | 3.9% |
| March 2023 | +1,000* | 4.5%* | 3.9% |
| February 2023 | +7,600* | 4.6%* | 4.0% |
| January 2023 | +4,200* | 4.6%* | 4.0% |
| December 2022 | +10,400* | 4.5%* | 4.1% |
| November 2022 | -700* | 4.6%* | 4.3% |
| October 2022 | -1,500* | 4.6%* | 4.5% |
| September 2022 | -4,200* | 4.4%* | 4.8% |
| August 2022 | +15,000* | 4.3%* | 5.0% |
| July 2022 | +40,400* | 4.1%* | 5.1% |
| June 2022 | +4,500* | 3.9%* | 5.3% |
| May 2022 | +1,400* | 3.9%* | 5.4% |
| April 2022 | +5,900* | 3.9%* | 5.7% |
| March 2022 | +9,400* | 3.9%* | 5.9% |
*Revised from previous preliminary estimates. Preliminary monthly estimates for job losses or gains are based on a small Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll survey. Actual figures reported the following month are based on a more complete survey.
Table 2: April job gains and losses by industry
| Industry sector | Job gains, losses |
| Construction | 3,100 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 1,500 |
| Retail trade | 1,100 |
| Other services | 1,000 |
| Financial activities | 900 |
| Education and health services | 800 |
| Wholesale trade | 700 |
| Transportation, warehousing and utilities | 300 |
| Mining and logging | 0 |
| Manufacturing | -100 |
| Government | -700 |
| Information | -700 |
| Professional and business services | -2,700 |
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