State unemployment rate decreases slightly in December as Washington adds jobs

Washington’s economy added an estimated 11,800 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in December, and the monthly unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.5%.

“Washington’s labor economy finished 2024 strong,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department. “The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest rate on record during the calendar year. The only two months with higher job gains in 2024 were in February and November.”

In the past 12 months, the state added 30,600 jobs — a 0.9% increase.

Private sector employment is estimated to have increased by 12,000 and government employment decreased by 200 in December. The largest one-month sector level gains in private industry were in construction, up 4,000, and leisure and hospitality, up 2,900.

The unemployment rate hovered from 4.5% to 4.9% during each month of 2024. For comparison, the unemployment rate stood at 4.2% in December 2023.

Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 70,120 people in December, an increase of 7,444 over the previous month. Increases in paid claims in construction, agriculture, and administrative support and waste management remediation services contributed to the increase.

Visit Employment Security’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for December 2024.  

Updated state preliminary data for November 2024

• The preliminary estimated gain of 30,900 jobs was revised to a gain of 31,800.
• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate remained at 4.6%.

National unemployment rate

The national unemployment rate decreased from 4.2% in November to 4.1% in December. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for December 2023 was 3.8%.

Labor force showed little change

From November to December 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased from 185,298 to 181,451. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 76,188 to 73,151 during the same period.

The state’s labor force in December stood at 3,988,999 – a decrease of 1,032 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 12,013 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.

Ten major industry sectors expanded, three contracted from November to December

Private sector employment increased by 12,000 jobs from November to December. Government employment decreased by 200 during that same time.

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in construction (up 4,000 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (up 2,900).

• The largest one-month gains in construction were attributable to specialty trade contractors (up 2,400) and residential building construction (up 1,700). Nonresidential building was down 400 over the month.
• The largest one-month increases in the leisure and hospitality sector were observed in the accommodation and food services (up 3,200).
• One-month sector losses were observed in manufacturing (down 1,600) and retail trade and government (down 200 each).
• Manufacturing losses were concentrated in aerospace products and parts manufacturing (down 900).

Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries

Washington gained an estimated 30,600 jobs from December 2023 to December 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment increased by 0.4%, or 13,000 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.0%, increasing by an estimated 17,600 jobs.

The two private industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:

• Education and health services, up 19,400 jobs.
• Transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 1,800 jobs

The wholesale trade sector reported the biggest employment loss year over year (not seasonally adjusted). It contracted by 4,700. Within the sector, nondurable goods decreased by an estimated 1,900 jobs.

Table 1: Washington’s total jobs

Month	Total jobs (losses or gains)	Unemployment rate	Previous year’s unemployment rate
December 2024	+11,800	4.5%	4.2%
November 2024	+31,800*	4.6%*	4.0%
October 2024	-33,600*	4.7%*	3.8%
September 2024	-2,800*	4.8%*	3.6%
August 2024	+2,100*	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%

*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: December job gains and losses by industry

Industry sector	Job gains, losses
Construction	4,000
Leisure and hospitality	2,900
Education and health services	2,400
Information	1,800
Professional and business services	1,500
Wholesale trade	600
Other services	300
Financial activities	100
Mining and logging	100
Transportation, warehousing and utilities	100
Government	-200
Retail trade	-200
Manufacturing	-1,600

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