November 2024 Monthly Employment Report

State unemployment rate dips in November as Washington adds jobs

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy added an estimated 30,900 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in November, and the monthly unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.6%. 

The one-month gains are largely due to the Boeing machinists’ strike ending in October. 

“Deep, temporary losses in October translated into large gains in November,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department. “Employment levels continue to increase, but the relative gains have slowed in recent months.” 

In the past 12 months, the state added 27,300 jobs, a 0.8% increase. 

Aerospace employment dropped by 30,700 in October. Despite that change, the unemployment rate dipped only slightly that month. 

The retail trade, construction and wholesale trade industries experienced the largest job losses from October to November. Manufacturing, government, and leisure and hospitality led statewide employment growth during that same time. 

The unemployment rate has hovered between 4.6% and 4.9% since January 2024. For comparison, the unemployment rate stood at 4.0% in November 2023. 

Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 62,676 people in November, an increase of 5,619 over the previous month. Increases in paid claims in construction and agriculture contributed to the increase. 

Visit Employment Security’s website to view the entire Monthly Employment Report for November 2024. 

Updated state preliminary data for October 2024 

• The preliminary estimated loss of 35,900 jobs was revised to a loss of 33,600. 

• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate remained at 4.7%. 

National unemployment rate 

The national unemployment rate increased from 4.1% in October to 4.2% in November. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for November 2023 was 3.7%. 

Labor force showed little change 

From October to November 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased slightly from 187,734 to 185,430. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 77,063 to 76,248 over the same period. 

The state’s labor force in November stood at 3,990,151 – a decrease of 5,523 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 11,280 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. 

Six major industry sectors expanded, six contracted from October to November 

Private sector employment increased by 29,200 jobs from October to November. Government employment increased by 1,700 during that same time. 

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in manufacturing (up 31,200 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (up 3,600). 

• The highest one-month gains in manufacturing were due to the Boeing machinists’ strike ending. October employment estimates for aerospace employment dropped by 30,700 during the strike. 

• The highest one-month increases in leisure and hospitality were in the arts, entertainment and recreation industries, which recovered 3,500 jobs. 

• The deepest one-month sector losses were in retail trade (down 1,800), construction (down 1,700) and wholesale trade (down 1,600). 

Three other sectors saw decreases in employment: transportation, warehousing and utilities (down 1,200); education and health services (down 800); and professional and business services (down 400). 

Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries 

Washington gained an estimated 27,300 jobs from November 2023 to November 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment increased by 0.12%, increasing by 3,700 jobs. Public sector employment grew 4%, increasing by an estimated 23,600 jobs. 

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

• Education and health services, up 17,500 jobs. 

• Manufacturing, up 2,200 jobs. 

The wholesale trade sector reported the biggest employment loss year over year (not seasonally adjusted). It contracted by 4,700. Within the sector, nondurable goods decreased an estimated 2,400 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: November 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 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 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.”

Washington’s U-6 annual average unemployment rate for the four-quarter period through third quarter 2024 was 9.2%. 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 third quarter 2024 was 7.4%.

Web links

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