May unemployment rate in Washington remains at 4.7%

OLYMPIA – Washington’s state’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent last month.

According to numbers released Wednesday by the Employment Security Department, May’s rate remains unchanged from April’s jobless rate. The state also added 9,600 jobs last month, with the largest job gains seen in construction, professional and business services and education and health services.

The state has added an estimated 82,300 jobs since May 2018, with the private sector adding 83,700 jobs and the public sector losing 1,400 jobs over the year.

Job gains and losses are estimates based on a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate counts the percentage of people who are unemployed and actively looking for work, and doesn’t include those who have stopped looking for work.

The national unemployment rate for May was 3.6 percent, and the rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett region was 3.5 percent.