Washington unemployment rate drops to 4.7 percent

OLYMPIA – Washington state’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in nearly 10 years, dropping to 4.7 percent last month.

The latest numbers released by the Employment Security Department Wednesday show that March’s rate dropped from February’s rate of 4.9 percent. March’s rate is the lowest the state has seen since August 2007.

The state also added 10,700 nonfarm jobs last month.

The national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent last month. The unemployment rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area was 3.3 percent.

The industries that saw the greatest job growth last month were leisure and hospitality up 2,700, education and health services up 2,500 and professional and businesses services, which gained 2,300 new jobs. Wholesale trade saw the biggest reduction in March, losing 1,400 jobs.