OLYMPIA — Washington state added 7,700 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent.
Numbers released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department show that the job growth in April comes after a strong month in March, where upward revised numbers showed a gain of 8,300 jobs. April’s jobless rate also dipped down from March’s 6.3 percent rate.
The Employment Security Department estimates that more than 77,000 jobs have been added statewide during the one-year period ending in April.
And officials said that between March and April, the number of unemployed job seekers actively looking for work in the state dropped by 9,000 to 210,600.
The biggest job growth in April was seen in professional and business services. Other areas that saw increases were retail, other services, construction, and private education and health services.
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