FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 18, 2024

Contact:   media@esd.wa.gov    

Payroll employment continues increase in March; unemployment rises to 4.8%

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy added an estimated 5,300 jobs (seasonally adjusted) and the monthly unemployment rate rose from 4.7% in February to 4.8% in March.

Last month’s unemployment rate is the highest recorded rate since 2021, surpassing the previous high mark set in February. It also marked the sixth consecutive month of increasing unemployment rates in Washington.

The state’s unemployment rate has been slowly increasing since September 2023, when it was 3.6%.

Job growth is still trending up. But overall growth has slowed in recent months as net employment continues to increase in some industries and decrease in others.

“Even though Washington employers added jobs for two consecutive months, the overall trend of job growth has been declining over time,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief regional economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Employment Security paid unemployment insurance benefits to 72,162 people in March, a decrease of 1,478 paid claims over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims in the following industries contributed to the overall decrease in claims over the month:

• Construction.
• Administrative and support.
• Waste management and remediation services.

Visit Employment Security's website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for March 2024.

Updated state preliminary data for February 2024

• The preliminary estimated gain of 2,600 jobs was revised to a gain of 3,900 jobs.
• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate was confirmed at 4.7%.

National unemployment rate

The national unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in March from 3.9% in February. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for March 2023 was 3.5%.

Labor force showed little change

From February to March 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased from 190,070 to 193,580. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 71,629 to 73,417 over the same period.

The state’s labor force in March was 3,640,500 – an increase of 5,300 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 4,850 people during the same period.

Labor force is defined as the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16. Layoffs and labor force participation are not necessarily connected. When people are laid off but still seeking work, they remain a part of the labor force. A drop in the labor force means people have left work and haven't been actively seeking employment for more than four weeks.

Eight major industry sectors expanded, four contracted and one stayed the same from February to March

Private sector employment increased by 2,900 jobs from February to March. Government employment also increased by 2,400 jobs.

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in professional and business services (up 2,700 jobs), and wholesale trade (up 1,800 jobs).

The deepest losses came from other services (down 2,300 jobs), including losses in membership associations and organizations (down 1,000 jobs).

The largest gains in the professional and business services sector were made in professional, scientific and technical services (up 2,300 jobs), especially in computer systems design and related services (up 800 jobs).

Mining and logging had no change in jobs from February to March.

Annual employment growth appears in government, and education and health services

Washington gained an estimated 57,800 jobs from March 2023 to March 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment rose 1.2% to an estimated 34,200 jobs, while public sector employment grew 4.1% to an estimated 23,600 jobs.

The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:

• Government, up 23,600 jobs.
• Education and health services, up 23,000 jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality, up 10,400 jobs.

The three industry sectors with the largest employment losses year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:

• Information, down 8,300 jobs.
• Construction, down 7,500 jobs.
• Retail trade, down 4,300 jobs.

Table 1: Washington’s total jobs

*Revised from previous preliminary estimates. Preliminary monthly estimates for job losses or gains are based on a small Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll survey. Actual figures reported the following month are based on a more complete survey.        

Table 2: January job gains and losses by industry

Labor market information

See more labor market information and tools, including interactive Tableau graphics, to highlight popular information and data.

WorkSource

Employment Security is a proud partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which provides employment and training assistance to job seekers and businesses. WorkSourceWA provides access to thousands of Washington jobs and other employment resources. WorkSource staff can connect job seekers with employers hiring right now in their community, identify training opportunities or help them brush up on application and interview skills. Job seekers and employers can find their nearest WorkSource center on the WorkSource office locator page.

Learn more about Employment Security's monthly employment reports
Every month, the Employment Security publishes preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates for the prior month’s job growth and unemployment. We also publish confirmed data for the month before last. See the entire Monthly Employment Report on our website.

Monthly Employment Report publication schedule for 2024

U-6 unemployment rate

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) updated its “alternative measures of labor underutilization” for states to include annual averages for 2021. One such alternative measure is the U-6 rate, which considers not only the unemployed population in the official “U-3” unemployment rate, but also marginally attached workers and those employed part time for economic reasons. The U-6 rate is defined by BLS as the “total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.” This U-6 measure measures the “unemployed, underemployed, and those who are not looking but who want a job.”

The U-6 annual average unemployment rate for the four-quarter period through fourth quarter 2023 for Washington state was 8.1%. This is above the 7.5% average for the four-quarter period through third quarter 2023. The U.S. U-6 average for the four-quarter period through fourth quarter 2023 was 6.9%.

Web links

• Monthly employment report 
• Labor market information website
• Historical data
• Employment Security website

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