Washington state unemployment rate decreases slightly in January to 4.3%

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy decreased by an estimated 1,100 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in January 2025, and the monthly unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.3%. The state’s unemployment rate, at a high of 4.6% in May 2024, has slowly decreased the past six months and is .3 percentage points lower than it was one year ago. 

“Washington’s labor market is still relatively strong, but growth has slowed over the past several months,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, Chief Labor Economist at the Employment Security Department.  

Recent federal government layoffs and several high-profile private industry layoffs won’t show up in the state’s labor market numbers for two or three months, Vance-Sherman said. 

“We are aware of several announced layoffs in the works – both in the public and private sectors,” she said. “It’s worth noting that Boeing layoffs (2,595 layoffs, most beginning Jan. 17, 2025) are unlikely to show up in traditional employment numbers until the February numbers are published in a couple weeks and federal layoff numbers will not show up until the March report.”   

In the past 12 months, the state added 68,000 jobs — a 2.9% increase. See the total jobs chart below for detailed information.  

New employment data shows nonfarm employment has decreased by 1,100 and government employment decreased by 700 in January. The largest one-month sector level gains in private industry were in construction, up 4,000, and leisure and hospitality, up 2,900.  

Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 82,365 people in January, an increase of 12,245 over the previous month. Increases in paid claims in construction, manufacturing, and accommodation and food services contributed to the increase. 

Learn more about Employment Security's monthly employment reports 

Every month, the Employment Security Department publishes preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates for the previous month’s job changes and unemployment. The agency also publishes confirmed data for the month before last. Find the entire Monthly Employment Report, publication schedule, and more labor market information and tools on our website.  

Updated state preliminary data for December 2024 

• The estimated gain of 11,800 jobs was revised to a gain of 12,300. 
• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate decreased to 4.4%. 

National unemployment rate 

The national unemployment rate increased from 4.0% in December 2024 to 4.1% in January 2025. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for January 2024 was 3.7%. 

Labor force showed little change 

From December 2024 to January 2025, the number of people who were unemployed statewide decreased from 178,069 to 176,278. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed decreased from 95,010 to 94,669 during the same period. 

The state’s labor force in January was 4,067,014 – an increase of 3,830 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force increased by 6,555 people during the same period. 

Labor force is defined as the number of employed and unemployed people 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 seeking employment for more than four weeks. 

Ten major industry sectors expanded, three contracted over the year 

Private sector employment increased by 50,600 jobs from January 2024 to January 2025. Government employment increased by 17,600 during the same time. 

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in education and health services (up 28,100 jobs); leisure and hospitality (up 11,100); and professional and business services (up 9,800). 

• Education and health services employment gains were primarily attributable to hiring in health and social services. Within that sector, ambulatory health care services added the most jobs (7,900). 
• One-year sector losses were in construction (down 5,100), wholesale trade (down 4,000), and manufacturing (down 3,000).
• Losses in construction were mostly among specialty trade contractors (down 3,300) however, losses occurred throughout the sector.  

Annual employment growth appears in public and private industries 

Washington gained an estimated 68,000 jobs from January 2024 to January 2025 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment increased by 1.7%, or 50,600 jobs. Public sector employment grew 2.9%, increasing by an estimated 17,600 jobs. 

The two private industry sectors with the largest employment gains compared with the same period last year (not seasonally adjusted) were: 

• Education and health services, up 28,100 jobs. 
• Leisure and hospitality, up 11,100 jobs 

Specialty trade contractors in construction showed the biggest employment loss compared with the same period last year (not seasonally adjusted). It contracted by 6,300.  

Table 1: Washington’s total jobs (12-month overview) 

*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: January job gains and losses by industry