Monthly report shows modest job growth in June

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy gained an estimated 2,500 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in June. Job growth was concentrated in the following industries: information, manufacturing and construction.

Also in June, the preliminary seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate remained constant at 3.9%.

"Labor market conditions remain strong for now, but hiring is showing signs of slowing,” said the Employment Security Department’s (ESD) State Economist Paul Turek. “Efforts underway to curb high inflation — such as raising interest rates — will likely continue to dampen job growth and hiring as the year progresses.”

In May, the preliminary seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate dropped slightly to 3.9%.

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

ESD paid unemployment insurance benefits to 36,427 people in June, a decrease of 1,708 over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims within the construction, manufacturing and agriculture sectors contributed to the overall decrease in paid claims over the month. 

National unemployment rate
The national unemployment remained constant in June at the preliminary rate of 3.6%. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for June 2021 was 5.9%.

Labor supply increases more slowly

The state’s labor force in June was 4,039,600 – an increase of 3,600 people from the previous month. Labor force is defined as the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 6,300 over the same period. From June 2021 to June 2022, the state’s labor force increased by 133,500, while the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region increased by 71,400.

From May to June, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased from 158,600 to 156,000. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 48,300 to 46,600 over the same period.

Of the industry sectors, in June:

• Five expanded
• Six contracted
• Two were unchanged

Private sector employment increased by 3,700 jobs while government employment decreased by 1,200 jobs. Table 2 shows a summary of the job gains and losses in all 13 industry sectors.

Annual payrolls expand for nearly every industry

Washington gained an estimated 175,400 jobs from June 2021 – June 2022, not seasonally adjusted. Private sector employment rose by 6.2%, up an estimated 173,600 jobs, while public sector employment rose by 0.3%, up an estimated 1,800 jobs.

From June 2021 – June 2022, 12 major industry sectors expanded and one contracted

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

• Leisure and hospitality, up 47,800 jobs.
• Professional and business services, up 35,500 jobs.
• Education and health services, up 20,300 jobs.

Mining and logging is the one industry sector that contracted, losing 300 jobs from June 2021 – June 2022.

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 while actual figures reported the following month are based on a more complete survey.        

Table 2: Job gains and losses by industry

Learn more about ESD’s monthly employment reports

Every month, 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. It includes:

• Preliminary job estimates for June from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• A confirmed unemployment rate of 3.9% for May.
• An adjustment to preliminary jobs data for May, with the estimated loss of 2,300 jobs revised to a loss of 1,200 jobs. The revised estimate represents a more accurate picture of developments in the job market for May by including additional information that was not available at the time of the previous month’s release.

Monthly Employment Report publication schedule for 2022

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.

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 Washington state U-6 unemployment rate from the second quarter 2021 through the first quarter 2022 was 9.1%. This was lower compared to the 10.1% U-6 unemployment rate for the annual 2021 period.

The U.S. U-6 unemployment rate from the second quarter 2021 through the first quarter 2022 was 8.4%.

Web links

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

Find a regional economist