State unemployment rate up slightly to 9.3 percent

By RACHEL LA CORTE Associated Press Writer

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Summary

Washington's unemployment rate increased slightly to 9.3 percent in October from the revised September rate of 9.1 percent, state officials said Tuesday.

Story Published: Nov 17, 2009 at 5:14 PM PST

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington's unemployment rate increased slightly to 9.3 percent in October from the revised September rate of 9.1 percent, state officials said Tuesday.

More than 310,000 people were unemployed and looking for work last month, according to the state Employment Security Department.

September's unemployment rate had been initially reported as 9.3 percent, but it was lowered after further analysis.

The state lost an estimated 5,100 nonagricultural jobs in October, and the state's pool of jobs shrunk by 120,000 from a year earlier, a decrease of 4.1 percent. Nationally, employment declined by 4 percent over the past year.

"Job losses are continuing, but they are moderating," said Dave Wallace, acting chief economist for the Employment Security Department.

The largest decline was in leisure and hospitality, which lost 2,900 jobs last month. Other industries that lost jobs in October were manufacturing, down 2,300 jobs; retail trade, down 1,400; and aerospace product and parts manufacturing, down 700. Transportation, warehousing and utilities; professional business services; and construction each lost about 600 jobs.

Some industries saw gains in October, the biggest in government, which was up about 900 jobs. Other industries that gained jobs were: information, up 700; financial activities, up 600; and education and health services, and wholesale trade, both up 200.

Wallace said he was "pleasantly surprised" that so many industries saw job gains. "This is certainly better than past months where we've seen only one or two," he said.

Washington's unemployment rate remains lower than the national figure, which was 10.2 percent in October.

In a separate report last month, chief state economist Arun Raha noted that Washington's unemployment rate has remained relatively flat since reaching 9.1 percent in March, the end of the recession's free-fall period.

Although many economists now believe the national recession has ended, experts also think the economic rebound will be drawn out over many months. Unemployment growth typically lags behind an economic recovery, meaning that overall jobless figures could stay high for some time.

State economic forecasters expect Washington's jobless rate to peak at 9.8 percent in March or April 2010.

The highest unemployment rate in the state in October was 13.7 percent in Clark County in southwestern Washington. Across the mountains in Eastern Washington, Whitman County has the state's lowest at 4.4 percent. The state's largest county, King, had an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent.