Washington’s economy added an estimated 1,600 jobs (seasonally adjusted), and the August unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.8%.
“Washington employers continue to add jobs, with significant variation from one industry to the next,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department.
Goods producers, including construction, manufacturing, and mining and logging industries, experienced job losses in August. Education and health services led statewide employment growth from July to August, as well as during the past 12 months.
The unemployment rate has hovered at 4.8 to 4.9% since March 2024.
Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 55,452 people in July, a decrease of 1,096 over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims in these industries helped contribute to the decrease:
- Construction.
- Manufacturing.
Visit Employment Security’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for August 2024.
Updated state preliminary data for July 2024
- The preliminary estimated loss of 100 jobs was revised to a loss of 3,100.
- The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate remained at 4.9%.
National unemployment rate
The national unemployment rate decreased from 4.3% in July to 4.2% in August. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for August 2023 was 3.8%.
Labor force showed little change
From July to August 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased slightly from 196,380 to 194,566. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 78,680 to 79,024 over the same period.
The state’s labor force in August stood at 4,012,527 – a decrease of 4,412 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 95 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.
Five major industry sectors expanded, seven contracted and one stayed the same from July to August
Private sector employment increased by 4,900 jobs from July to August. Government employment decreased by 3,300.
The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in education and health services (up 6,100 jobs), professional and business services (up 1,700), and financial activities (up 300 jobs).
- The highest one-month gains in education and health services were in educational services and social assistance (up 4,100 jobs).
- The largest gains in the professional and business services sector were in administrative services (up 2,200).
Seven sectors saw decreases in employment: government (down 3,300); manufacturing (down 1,000); retail trade (down 800); construction (down 800); information (down 500); other services (down 400); and mining and logging (down 100).
Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries
Washington gained an estimated 58,500 jobs from August 2023 to August 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment rose 1.4%, increasing by 41,600 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.0%, increasing by an estimated 16,900 jobs.
The two industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:
- Education and health services, up 24,400 jobs.
- Professional and business services, up 6,000 jobs.
The information sector reported the biggest employment loss year over year (not seasonally adjusted). It contracted by 6,600. Within the sector, the software publishing industry shed an estimated 4,900 jobs.
Table 1: Washington’s total jobs
| Month | Total jobs (losses or gains) | Unemployment rate | Previous year’s unemployment rate |
| August 2024 | +1,600 | 4.8% | 3.6% |
| July 2024 | -3,100* | 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% |
*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: August job gains and losses by industry
| Industry sector | Job gains, losses |
| Education and health services | 6,100 |
| Professional and business services | 1,700 |
| Financial activities | 300 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 200 |
| Wholesale trade | 200 |
| Transportation, warehousing and utilities | 0 |
| Mining and logging | -100 |
| Other services | -400 |
| Information | -500 |
| Construction | -800 |
| Retail trade | -800 |
| Manufacturing | -1,000 |
| Government | -3,300 |
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