The Washington state economy added more than 10,000 jobs to payrolls in June, but once again it had little effect on the state's unemployment rate, which was unchanged from May at 8.3 percent, according to preliminary jobless data released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department.
The state's jobless data always is subject to revisions, so the initial job creation number for June – 10,200 to be exact – might be lowered once the revised data is released. A lower job creation number might explain why the unemployment rate didn't budge.
Meanwhile, professional and business services led the way in job growth last month, creating an estimated 5,000 jobs. This was followed by manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, retail trade, wholesale trade, a category for transportation, warehousing, utilities, and information.
The biggest industry loser in June was education and health services, which shed 2,500 jobs, the data show.
An estimated 293,200 people were jobless and looking for work last month, which includes 144,855 who claimed jobless benefits. More than 4,500 jobless workers exhausted their unemployment benefits last month, increasing the total to more than 100,000 since July 2008.
Pierce County jobless data, which is not seasonally adjusted, will be released Tuesday. Pierce County's unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in May.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.