Dec. 20, 2023

Contact:   media@esd.wa.gov    

Payroll employment dipped in November; unemployment rate increases to 4.0%

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy lost an estimated 2,600 jobs (seasonally adjusted) and the monthly unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 4% in November.

"October’s job gains were largely reversed in November. Payroll employment dropped and the unemployment rate reached 4.0% after five consecutive months below 4%,” said Employment Security Department (ESD) Chief Labor Economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman. "The demand for workers remains elevated. However, some softening of the labor market is evident.”

Visit ESD’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for November.

ESD paid unemployment insurance benefits to 61,826 people in November, an increase of 7,162 paid claims over the previous month. Seasonal increases in paid claims within agriculture, construction, and manufacturing contributed to the overall increase in claims over the month.

Updated state preliminary data for October 2023

• The preliminary estimated gain of gain of 7,900 jobs in October was revised downward to a gain of 3,100 jobs.
• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate in October was confirmed at 3.8%.

National unemployment rate
The national unemployment rate decreased from 3.9% to 3.7% in November. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for November 2022 was 3.6%.

Labor force showed little change
The state’s labor force in November numbered 4,057,865 – an increase of 1,889 people from the previous month.

In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 3,715 over 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.

From November 2022 to November 2023, the state’s labor force increased by 41,412, while the labor force in the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region increased by 39,556 over the same period.

From October to November 2023, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased from 153,315 to 161,716. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 61,097 to 64,810 over the same period.

Four major industry sectors continued to add jobs and eight shed jobs in November
Private sector employment decreased by 3,600 jobs from October to November while government employment increased by 1,000 jobs.

Of the industry sectors, in November:

• Four expanded.
• Eight contracted.
• One was unchanged.

Here are some key increases and decreases:

• The largest sector-level gains were observed in manufacturing (up 1,400). Employment gains were largely attributable to hiring by employers in the aerospace product and parts manufacturing industry.
• Government employment increases were concentrated in local government, not including local educational services.
• Leisure and hospitality employment increased by 900, with the largest observed gains attributable to arts, entertainment and recreation (+1,000).
• Employment in professional and business services fell by 2,600, with losses concentrated in administrative and support services (-1,800).
• Employment in construction decreased by 800 overall. Losses were concentrated among specialty trade contractors (-2,200).

Annual employment growth most evident in government, and education and health services
Washington gained an estimated 40,700 jobs from November 2022 to November 2023, not seasonally adjusted. Private sector employment rose by 0.7%, up an estimated 20,600 jobs, while public sector employment rose by 3.5% — up an estimated 20,100 jobs.

From November 2022 – November 2023, seven major industry sectors expanded and six decreased
The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year over year, not seasonally adjusted, were:

• Government, up 20,100 jobs.
• Education and health services, up 19,000 jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality, up 10,300 jobs.

The two industry sectors with the largest employment losses year over year, not seasonally adjusted, were:

• Construction, down 7,800 jobs.
• Information, down 7,100 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: Job gains and losses by industry for November

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 ESD’s monthly employment reports
Every month, the Employment Security Department 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 2023

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 third quarter 2023 for Washington state was 7.5 percent. This was above the 7.3 percent average for the four-quarter period through second quarter 2023.  The U.S. U-6 average for the four-quarter period through third quarter 2023 was 6.8 percent.

Web links

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

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