Unemployment rates dropping certainly cannot be a bad thing. Especially when those changes are happening in this very state. Things have been looking up for Washingtonians, as the state has reportedly regained over 50% of the jobs that were cut during the recession. Last year, the construction sector experienced an overwhelming comeback, and created nearly one-fourth of new jobs in Washington. This, in turn, triggered a statewide employment boom and this growth is expected to continue as South Lake Union and Bellevue high-rise projects jump into action in the upcoming months.
7.6% in December is the last recorded unemployment rate for Washington. This is the lowest that the unemployment rate has been in The Evergreen State in four years, but experts are warning us not to be overly optimistic about these figures. Unemployment rate measures “how many people out of work have looked for a job in the past 4 weeks”, according to Sanjay Bhatt for The Seattle Times. Claims are being made that the deflated rate has occurred simply because over 6,000 people stopped looking for jobs, not necessarily because people have found jobs.
Washington State is currently ranked #30 for unemployment rate in the U.S., alongside Colorado and Tennessee. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2%, and Rhode Island and Nevada are tied for highest at 10.2% unemployment.