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Nonfarm payroll employment soars back in March

4/17/2019

19-027

Contact:   Paul Turek, labor economist, 360-507-9599
                   Bretta Beveridge, communications manager, 360-902-9293    


OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy gained 27,900 jobs in March and the state’s seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for March rose slightly to 4.6 percent according to the Employment Security Department. The revised estimated February 2019 unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent.

“The recent winter events have forced a great deal of volatility into the estimates” said Paul Turek, economist for the department. “I anticipate job growth will even out and settle down as the year progresses.”

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

The department also announced that February’s previously reported unemployment rate of 4.5 percent was confirmed. However, February’s preliminary estimated loss of 8,700 jobs was revised upward  to a loss of 14,400 jobs.

The national unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in February and March 2019. In March 2018, the national unemployment rate was 4.0 percent.

Employment Security paid unemployment insurance benefits to 68,651 people in March.

 
More people continue to move into the labor force

The state’s labor force in March was 3,862,100 – an increase of 13,000 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 5,700 over the same period.

From March 2018 through March 2019, the state’s labor force grew by 96,400 and the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region increased by 34,700.

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

 
Twelve industry sectors expanded and one contracted

Private sector employment increased by 28,400 while the public sector lost 500 jobs in March. This month’s report shows private job growth occurred in construction up 14,800 jobs, education & health services up 3,700 jobs, professional & business services up 2,900 jobs, leisure & hospitality up 1,400 jobs, other services up 1,300 jobs and wholesale trade up 1,100 jobs. Also posting job gains are information up 900 jobs, manufacturing up 800 jobs, retail trade up 600 jobs, transportation, warehousing & utilities up 600 jobs, financial activities up 200 jobs and mining & logging up 100 jobs.

 
Year-over-year growth in payroll employment moves back up

Washington added an estimated 81,600 new jobs from March 2018 through March 2019, not seasonally adjusted. The private sector grew by 3.2 percent, up an estimated 88,100 jobs, while public sector employment decreased by 1.1 percent with a net loss of 6,500 jobs.

From February 2018 through February 2019, twelve out of the thirteen major industries added jobs and one contracted.

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

  • Education & health services with 19,500 new jobs
  • Leisure & hospitality with 12,700 new jobs
  • Construction with 12,600 new jobs

Labor market information

Check it out! ESD has new labor market information and tools, highlighting popular information and data, including interactive graphics.

WorkSource

Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services for job seekers, including free help with resumes, interviewing and skills training. WorkSource also helps employers advertise jobs, convene hiring events and connect with subsidized employee training.

Find WorkSource locations and more than 140,000 job openings on WorkSourceWA.com.

Note: The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently updated its “alternative measures of labor underutilization,” or U-6 rate, for states to include the fourth quarter of 2018. The U-6 rate considers not only the unemployed population in the official U-3 unemployment rate, but also “the underemployed and those not looking but wanting a job.” The U-6 rate for Washington from the first quarter through the fourth quarter of 2018 was 8.4 percent. This was lower than the 9.2 percent U-6 unemployment rate for the previous year. The U.S. U-6 unemployment rate was 7.7 percent over the same period of time.

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