Payroll employment continued to increase in May; unemployment ticks up to 4.9%

OLYMPIA — Washington’s economy added an estimated 16,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted), and the monthly unemployment rate bumped up to 4.9% from April to May 2024.

“The labor market is continuing to cool, but remains relatively healthy,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the Employment Security Department. “Despite signs of cooling, Washington businesses collectively added several thousand new jobs. We also saw job growth in most industries.”

The unemployment rate had remained steady at 4.8% the past two months. But this month’s increase continues the trend of small monthly rate increases in 2024. Last summer, Washington’s unemployment rate was a record low of 3.6%.

Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 61,337 people in May, a decrease of 1,086 over the previous month. Decreases in paid claims in the following industries contributed to the decrease:

• Construction.
• Agriculture.
• Accommodation and food services.

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

Updated state preliminary data for April 2024

• The preliminary estimated gain of 5,200 jobs was revised up to a gain of 6,800 jobs.
• The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate was confirmed at 4.8%.

National unemployment rate

The national unemployment rate increased from 3.9% in April to 4.0% in May. For comparison, the national unemployment rate (revised) for May 2023 was 3.7%.

Labor force showed little change

From April to May 2024, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased from 194,409 to 195,793. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 74,941 to 76,308 over the same period.

The state’s labor force in May was 4,016,975 — an increase of 1,024 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 6,603 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.

Eleven major industry sectors expanded, two contracted from April to May

Private sector employment increased by 15,300 jobs from April to May. Government employment increased by 700 jobs.

The largest sector-level gains in private industry were in professional and business services (up 5,100 jobs), leisure and hospitality (up 4,400 jobs), and education and health services (up 3,400 jobs).

• The largest gains in the professional and business services sector were in administrative and support services (up 3,700 job). Within that group, employment services expanded by 1,100.
• The highest one-month gains in leisure and hospitality were in food services and drinking places (up 4,300).
• Gains in other services were largest in repair and maintenance (up 1,000), and membership associations and organizations (up 400 each).

Only two sectors saw decreases in employment — wholesale trade (down 1,200), and mining and logging (down 100).

Annual employment growth appears in two main areas

Washington gained an estimated 48,800 jobs from May 2023 to May 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). During that time, private sector employment rose 1.0%, increasing by 30,700 jobs. Public sector employment grew 3.0%, increasing by an estimated 18,100 jobs.

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

• Education and health services, up 22,080 jobs.
• Professional and business services, up 6,200 jobs.

The two industry sectors reporting employment losses year over year (not seasonally adjusted) were:

• Information, down 7,000 jobs.
• Retail trade, down 3,900 jobs.