The State Of Washington’s August Unemployment Rate Up 0.1%

The State of Washington’s August unemployment rate rose 0.1% to 8.6%. This is the third straight monthly increase and the highest rate for WA since December 2011. There are around 301,600 unemployed workers in the state, an increase of about 2,800 over July 2012. The number of employed individuals dropped in Washington for the month by approximately 24,000 to 3.2 Million. Also, the total workforce went down by 21,000 to about 3.5 Million in August. The result of these statistics is the 0.1% increase in the WA unemployment rate.

Washington’s August 2012 unemployment rate is 0.6% better than the rate 1 year ago in August 2011. Compared to last year there are approximately 18,000 fewer individuals unemployed in the State of Washington. Also, there are over 35,000 more individuals employed and approximately 17,400 more people in the total civilian workforce. However, while the unemployment rate mainly fell for the last half of 2011, Washington’s unemployment rate has been slowly rising since it bottomed at 8.2% in April 2012.

Other states in the area have seen similar trends. Compared to these other neighboring states, Washington’s results are mixed for August 2012. The state of California continues to have a higher rate than WA at 10.6%. Also higher in August are Oregon (8.9%) and Nevada (at a region-high 12.1%). Several states in the region, however, have lower rates including Colorado (8.2%), Idaho (7.4%), and Arizona (8.3%). Compared to the nation, Washington State continues to track higher than the U.S. average of 8.1%. Additionally, the national unemployment rate dropped 0.2% in August, and has stayed in the 8.1% to 8.3% range for 2012.

We can also look at the employment statistics by major business sector. Most Washington industries experienced employment decreases in the month of August. These included Professional & Business Services, Education & Health Services, Government, Leisure & Hospitality, and Trade Transportation and Utilities. A few business types did experience employment gains including Manufacturing, Construction, and Financial Activities. The largest employment numbers for any major business sector in WA is Trade Transportation and Utilities with 539,700 employed. It’s closely followed by Government with approximately 534,300 employed. The largest improvement (by percentage) in the past 12 months was in Manufacturing with a 5.8% increase. The largest employment decrease was Mining and Logging at -3.4%.

In about a month, the Department of Labor will release Washington’s September employment statistics. When they do, we’ll once again review the results for the state and how Washington compares to the nation and others in the region. Please remember that previously released statistics can be altered at a later date.

No Change – WA Unemployment Rate 8.3% In June

Washington’s unemployment rate was static at 8.3% for June 2012. The unemployment rate has fluctuated during 2012, and is now and is just 0.1% lower than the January 2012 rate of 8.4%. If For the month, there were approximately 1,000 more unemployed individuals in WA in the June when compared to July. This, however, was offset by a subsequent 3,700 person increase in the number of individuals employed. There was also a 4,700 person increase in the total civilian labor force in June in WA. The result of these statistics was the flat unemployment rate for June in Washington.

The good news is that Washington’s unemployment rate is both better than the national average (8.2%) and much improved from June 2011 when the rate was at 9.3%. The full percentage improvement in the unemployment rate in Washington meant 30,000 fewer unemployed workers and 79,000 more employed workers in Washington. Also, there were approximately 48,000 more people in the civilian work force for the state. The combination of these statistics is the big drop in the unemployment rate in WA for the year.

The numbers for the industries in Washington were mainly positive in June. On the plus-side were Construction, Information, Manufacturing, Construction, Information, Financial Activities, and Leisure & Hospitality. On the down-side for the month were the business sectors of Education & Health Services, Other Services, and Government.

We can also look at employment numbers for some of the major metro areas in WA For June these results are similar to the industry numbers in that they are largely positive. The City of Olympia experienced a decrease from 7.9% to 7.7% in June, as did the City of Spokane going from 9.0% to 8.8%. Both the City of Bellingham and the Bremerton-Silverdale area had their unemployment rate’s drop to 7.5% in June. Although still one of the highest in the state, the City of Longview’s unemployment rate also came down to 11.0%. Lastly, the City of Yakima enjoyed one of the biggest decreases for June dropping 1.3% from May’s 10.6%. The one exception to this positive trend in June was the the major Seattle-Bellevue metro area where it’s unemployment rose from 7.1% to 7.5%.

The State of Washington’s unemployment rate continues to be about average when we compare it to other neighboring states in the region. States with higher rates include Oregon (8.5%) and California (10.7%). Area states with lower rates that WA include Idaho (6.3%) and Montana (also at 6.3%).

Later this Summer the July 2012 employment numbers for the State of WA will be released. Please check back when we review those statistics for Washington. Always remember that employment numbers can be changed at a later time.

 

Unemployment Rate Analysis – The State of Washington – April 2012

The April 2012 unemployment rate for Washington State has been reported at 8.2%.  This rate is a slight improvement from the March 2012 rate of 8.3%  and results in (approx.) 4,000 fewer unemployed workers over 1 month ago.  Compared to one ago the rate is 1.1% better than the 9.3% recorded for April 2011.  The result is around 36,000 less unemployed individuals in Washington for the year.  Even better news is that the civilian labor force numbers are up for the month as well with just over 9,000 more – and we still saw a drop in unemployment.

The Rates for many of Washington’s major cities & population areas also saw some improvements for the month of April.  The City of Bellingham had it’s rate drop to 7.2%, Olympia fell to 7.7%, and Seattle fell all the way to 6.4% for the month.  Some of the smaller cities/areas saw rate reductions for April, though overall their rates still lagged behind the WA state average.  These cities include Yakima at 10.6%, Spokane at 8.9%, Tacoma at 9%, and Longview at 10.8%.  Still, though higher than the state averages these cities all saw the same general improvement in the April 2012 unemployment rates.

When researching specific industries the results were somewhat mixed for the month or April.  Several industries saw improvements in employment for the month including Leisure & Hospitality, Manufacturing, and Financial Activities.  Some areas that experienced an employment decreases for the month include Education & Health Services, Information, and Trade Transportation and Utilities

When compared to other states in the region the Washington rate of 8.2% ranks among the best.  Neighboring state Oregon’s rate for April was 8.5%.  The States of California and Nevada have rates are much higher at 10.9% and 11.7% respectively.  Only Idaho’s rate of 7.7% is better than WA –  and that with a much smaller population.

When compared to the United States as a whole, Washington’s 8.2% unemployment rate is only a little higher than the national rate of 8.1%.  Both Washington and the nation have been seeing a (slight) trend of improving unemployment rates for 2012.

We will look at the Washington Unemployment rates/numbers again when the May 2012 rates are released by the Department of Labor.  As always please be aware that these numbers can and do get adjusted and may change from the numbers listed in this article.