December 2024 Monthly Employment Report

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy added an estimated 11,800 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in December, and the monthly unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.5%.

“Washington’s labor economy finished 2024 strong,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department. “The unemployment rate dropped to the lowest rate on record during the calendar year. The only two months with higher job gains in 2024 were in February and November.”

In the past 12 months, the state added 30,600 jobs — a 0.9% increase.

Private sector employment is estimated to have increased by 12,000 and government employment decreased by 200 in December. The largest one-month sector level gains in private industry were in construction, up 4,000, and leisure and hospitality, up 2,900.

The unemployment rate hovered from 4.5% to 4.9% during each month of 2024. For comparison, the unemployment rate stood at 4.2% in December 2023.

Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 70,120 people in December, an increase of 7,444 over the previous month. Increases in paid claims in construction, agriculture, and administrative support and waste management remediation services contributed to the increase.

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

Updated state preliminary data for November 2024

• The preliminary estimated gain of 30,900 jobs was revised to a gain of 31,800.

• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate remained at 4.6%. 

National unemployment rate 

The national unemployment rate decreased from 4.2% in November to 4.1% in December. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for December 2023 was 3.8%. 

Labor force showed little change 

From November to December 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased from 185,298 to 181,451. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 76,188 to 73,151 during the same period. 

The state’s labor force in December stood at 3,988,999 – a decrease of 1,032 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 12,013 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. 

Ten major industry sectors expanded, three contracted from November to December 

Private sector employment increased by 12,000 jobs from November to December. Government employment decreased by 200 during that same time. 

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in construction (up 4,000 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (up 2,900). 

• The largest one-month gains in construction were attributable to specialty trade contractors (up 2,400) and residential building construction (up 1,700). Nonresidential building was down 400 over the month. 

• The largest one-month increases in the leisure and hospitality sector were observed in the accommodation and food services (up 3,200).  

• One-month sector losses were observed in manufacturing (down 1,600) and retail trade and government (down 200 each).  

• Manufacturing losses were concentrated in aerospace products and parts manufacturing (down 900).

Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries 

Washington gained an estimated 30,600 jobs from December 2023 to December 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment increased by 0.4%, or 13,000 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.0%, increasing by an estimated 17,600 jobs. 

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

• Education and health services, up 19,400 jobs. 

• Transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 1,800 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 by an estimated 1,900 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: December 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 2025 

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

• Employment Security website