OLYMPIA – Following eight straight months of job growth, Washington employment dipped by an estimated 700 jobs in May, the state Department of Labor and Industries reported June 15.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was estimated at 9.1 percent, down slightly from April’s revised rate of 9.2 percent.
Industries that posted gains in May were leisure and hospitality, up 3,200; professional and business services, up 900; construction, up 700; and government, up 200.
Jobs were lost in wholesale trade, down 2,100; retail trade, down 1,600; financial activities, down 900; transportation, warehousing and utilities, down 600; education and health services, down 300; and manufacturing, down 200.
Even with last month’s job losses, the state economy has added an estimated 52,400 jobs since the low point of the recession.
An estimated 306,919 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in May, and 208,582 people received unemployment benefits from Washington.
Snohomish County unemployment statistics will be released June 21.
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