Washington jobless rate down to 4.7 percent

OLYMPIA — Washington’s unemployment rate has ticked down to 4.7 percent, and state Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee says jobless figures have been remarkably consistent this year.

Lee says Washington employers added 5,200 jobs in November. The latest jobless figure continues the year’s string of low unemployment. The modern record for low unemployment, 4.4 percent, was set in April.

The national rate is also 4.7 percent, unchanged from the previous month. The state’s rate was 5 percent one year ago.

State officials say 78,600 net new jobs have been created over the past 12 months. That annual growth rate, 2.7 percent, compares with national job growth of 1.1 percent.