Washington’s economy shed an estimated 100 jobs (seasonally adjusted), and the July unemployment rate rose to 4.9%.
“Washington’s labor market is in a holding pattern,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department. “July marked the fifth consecutive month with an unemployment rate in the 4.8% to 4.9% range. Payroll employment shows a mix of employment gains and losses by sector, continuing the trend we’ve been experiencing. The extremely tight labor market of the pandemic is behind us.”
Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 56,548 people in July, a decrease of 1,340 over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims in these industries helped contribute to the decrease:
- Educational services.
- Transportation and warehousing.
Visit Employment Security’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for July 2024.
Updated state preliminary data for June 2024
- The preliminary estimated gain of 7,100 jobs was revised up to 8,700.
- The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate decreased to 4.8%.
National unemployment rate
The national unemployment rate increased from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for July 2023 was 3.5%.
Labor force showed little change
From June to July 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased slightly from 194,884 to 196,669. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 77,611 to 78,818 over the same period.
The state’s labor force in July stood at 4,017,377 – a decrease of 1,482 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 3,731 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.
Six major industry sectors expanded, seven contracted from June to July
Private sector employment increased by 700 jobs from June to July. Government employment decreased by 800 jobs.
The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in education and health services (up 3,100 jobs), construction (up 1,700), and transportation, warehousing and utilities (up 1,300 jobs).
- The highest one-month gains in education and health services were in health services and social assistance (up 4,100 jobs). Within that sector, the largest gains occurred in hospitals (up 2,000) and social assistance (up 1,900).
- The largest gains in the construction sector were in the construction of buildings (up 1,700) – especially residential construction.
Seven sectors saw decreases in employment: information (down 3,800); other services (down 1,500); wholesale trade (down 1,000); government (down 800); professional and business services (down 300); manufacturing (down 100); and mining and logging (down 100).
Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries
Washington gained an estimated 62,500 jobs from July 2023 to July 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment rose 1.3%, increasing by 39,700 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.9%, increasing by an estimated 22,800 jobs.
The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:
- Education and health services, up 23,800 jobs.
- Other services, up 6,400 jobs.
- Construction, up 6,100 jobs.
The information sector reported the biggest employment loss year over year (not seasonally adjusted). It contracted by 9,800, with the software publishing industry shedding the majority (5,800) of those jobs.
Table 1: Washington’s total jobs
| Month | Total jobs (losses or gains) | Unemployment rate | Previous year’s unemployment rate |
| July 2024 | -100 | 4.9% | 3.6% |
| June 2024 | +8,700* | 4.8%* | 3.8% |
| May 2024 | +16,300* | 4.9%* | 4.1% |
| April 2024 | +6,800* | 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% |
*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: June job gains and losses by industry
| Industry sector | Job gains, losses |
| Education and health services | 3,100 |
| Construction | 1,700 |
| Transportation, warehousing and utilities | 1,300 |
| Retail trade | 800 |
| Financial activities | 300 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 300 |
| Mining and logging | -100 |
| Manufacturing | -100 |
| Professional and business services | -300 |
| Government | -800 |
| Wholesale trade | -1,000 |
| Other services | -1,500 |
| Information | -3,800 |
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