How 11,100 new jobs set a record in November

Washington is celebrating a new unemployment record after revised figures show November had a lower rate than initially thought.

The state Employment Security Department updated its November figures when it released its December report this week. Revisions are normal.

But Wednesday’s news reveals a new record as the state said the economy grew by 11,100 jobs over the prior year, 1,200 more than initially thought.

That nudged the unemployment rate down, to 4.4 percent from 4.5 percent.

For December, the employment department said Washington added 6,100 jobs. The job growth figure is computed by subtracting the 7,700 actual job losses in December from the expected seasonal losses, 13,800.

For example, the retail industry typically adds 3,200 jobs in December. In reality, it added 400, for a net loss of 2,800.

Conversely, the leisure and hospitality industry usually adds 800 positions in December. Instead, it added 4,700, for a collective gain of 3,900.

The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for December clocked in at 4.5 percent, six-tenths of a percent lower than the prior year.

The Seattle metro area unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in December. Mid-Columbia and other local unemployment rates won’t be released until next week. In November the Tri-City jobless rate remained near record-low levels.

Paul Turek, the state economist, credits steady growth for keeping unemployment down.

“That’s a perfect recipe for producing a healthy labor market,” he said.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from November, and down from 4.7 percent for the year.

Washington added 95,500 in 2017, with the private sector accounting for 84,100 jobs and the public sector accounting for 11,400 jobs.

There were 3.7 million available workers age 16 and over in Washington in December, with 169,500 unemployed. The state said it paid unemployment insurance benefits to 63,570.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 6:07 PM with the headline "How 11,100 new jobs set a record in November."