Unemployment in Washington steady in June

Washington’s unemployment rate held steady during the month of June, logging in at 4.5%. Preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed the state gained 2,500 jobs during the month.

“Washington’s economy continues to add jobs slowly, just not enough for the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to fall lower in June,” said Paul Turek, economist for the department. “There’s just not a lot of excess skilled labor available in the market for employers to dramatically increase hiring.”

The Employment Security Department released the seasonally adjusted, preliminary jobs estimates from BLS as part of its June Monthly Employment Report.

Over the course of the past year, unemployment improved, down from 5.5% in June of 2016. Employment Security paid unemployment insurance benefits to 49,148 people in June.

The state’s labor force rose to 3.69 million — an increase of 6,400 people from the previous month. From June 2016 through June 2017, the state’s labor force grew by 56,500.

However, Turek says he believed the unemployment rate hit the lowest rate and may slowly tick back upward. He says the demand for workers is higher than the supply of a qualified workforce to fill those positions.