Washington's unemployment rate climbed in March despite a gain of 1,110 jobs, the Employment Security Department said today.

The March unemployment rate was 9.2 percent, a notch higher than the 9.1 percent reported for February.

The biggest job gains were in business and professional services, 2,700; wholesale trade, 1,900; and manufacturing, 1,600. Construction employment slumped 2,400; education and health services, 1,800; and government, 1,300.

Employers in Washington have added 33,100 workers since March 2010, but 340,325 unemployed were still trying to find a job last month. Of those, 228,911 collected unemployment benefits.

More than 22,000 job openings are posted online at the WorkSource Web site, www.go2worksource.com.

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