Employment Security Department
#20-065
Monthly Employment Report for October 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 18, 2020

Contact:   media@esd.wa.gov    

Unemployment rate falls while payroll employment inches forward

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy added 1,000 jobs in October and the state’s preliminary seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for October decreased from 8.3 percent (adjusted) to 6.0 percent according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

*Revised from previous preliminary estimates

“The preliminary read on October payroll employment shows a very small increase once more,” said Paul Turek, economist for the department. “Upward revisions to the data in recent months show a stronger recovery, but renewed restrictions on business operations in response to mounting virus risk put the recovery in jeopardy.”

ESD released the preliminary job estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of its Monthly Employment Report.

The department also announced that September’s previously reported unemployment rate of 8.4 percent was revised slightly downward to 8.3 percent. September’s preliminary estimated gain of 2,400 jobs was revised to a gain of 23,800 jobs.

The national unemployment rate decreased from 7.9 percent in September to 6.9 percent in October 2020. In October 2019, the national unemployment rate (revised) was 3.6 percent.

ESD paid unemployment insurance benefits to 453,798 people in October, a decrease of 99,489 over the previous month.

State labor force participation increases

The state’s labor force in October was 3,989,000– an increase of 60,700 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 12,900 over the same period.

From October 2019 through October 2020, the state’s labor force increased by 42,600 and the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region decreased by 40,700.

The labor force is the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16.

From September 2020 to October 2020, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased from 326,000 to 238,600. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 117,900 to 82,000 over the same period.

Seven industry sectors expanded, five sectors contracted and one was unchanged in October

Private sector employment increased by 14,100 jobs while government employment decreased by 13,100 jobs. Provided below is a summary of the job gains and losses in all thirteen industry sectors.

 Industry sector                                      Job gains/losses

Most payroll jobs lost year-over-year have been in leisure and hospitality

Washington lost an estimated 173,200 jobs from October 2019 through October 2020, not seasonally adjusted. Private sector employment fell by 4.5 percent, down an estimated 132,100 jobs, while public sector employment fell by 6.9 percent with a net loss of 41,200 jobs.

From October 2019 through October 2020, ten major industry sectors contracted while three industry sector expanded.

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

• Leisure and hospitality down 70,600 jobs
• Government down 41,200 jobs
• Manufacturing down 26,600 jobs

Labor market information

Check it out! ESD has new 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. While WorkSource centers are closed for in-person services during the COVID-19 outbreak, customers can still get help from WorkSource staff by phone and through the Live Chat feature on WorkSourceWA.com. The website provides access to thousands of Washington jobs and other employment resources. Chat agents cannot answer unemployment benefit questions.

Note: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently updated its “alternative measures of labor underutilization” for states to include annual averages for first quarter 2020. 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 unemployment rate for the third quarter 2020 for Washington state was 13.0 percent. This was higher compared to the 10.9 percent U-6 unemployment rate second quarter prior. The annual U.S. U-6 unemployment rate was 12.3 percent in third quarter 2020.

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Labor market information questions regarding COVID-19

For workers or businesses affected by the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Employment Security Department (ESD) has programs that may be able to help. Please see ESD’s website for more information.  For labor market information questions regarding COVID-19, please email ESD’s Director of Labor Market and Economic Analysis.

Web links

• Monthly employment report 
• Labor market information website
• Historical data (Excel spreadsheet)
• Employment Security website

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