For the Reporter

Washington continued to see modest job growth in August, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent for the month, on a preliminary, seasonally adjusted basis, according to estimates by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Washington’s unemployment rate has remained at 5.3 percent since June 2015. The state’s unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in August 2014. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped slightly from July to August from 5.3 percent to 5.1 percent.

Unemployment in the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area fell from 3.7 percent in July 2015 to a preliminary 3.6 percent in August 2015.

Steady growth from July to August

The August Monthly Employment Report from the state Employment Security Department (ESD) estimates Washington gained 1,600 new non-farm jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis from July 2015 to August 2015 with a gain of 900 new private sector jobs and 700 new jobs in the public sector.

“Washington continues to enjoy modest job growth with fewer individuals among the unemployed,” said Paul Turek, labor economist with ESD. “At the same time, we saw a reduction in the number of people in the labor force, which resulted in the unemployment rate holding steady at 5.3 percent. The Seattle area labor market continues to grow, resulting in a 3.6 percent unemployment rate in that area this month.”

Labor force continues to contract, number of unemployed workers also drops

Washington’s resident labor force dropped from 3.537 million people in July 2015 to 3.531 million in August 2015. The labor force is the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16.

The number of unemployed, or those who currently do not have a job but have actively looked for work in the last four weeks, dropped slightly from 188,600 in July 2015 to 186,000 in August. ESD paid unemployment benefits to 56,251 people.

Year-over-year growth remains strong with gains in all sectors

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates Washington gained 92,200 jobs from August 2014 to August 2015, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, with 84,800 new jobs in the private sector and 7,400 new jobs in the public sector.

From August 2014 to August 2015, all 13 major industries saw growth. The top five industry sectors with the largest employment gains from August 2014 to August 2015, not seasonally adjusted, were:

• Professional and business services with 22,100 new jobs;

• Retail trade with 17,800 new jobs;

• Construction with 12,800 new jobs;

• Leisure and hospitality with 11,800 new jobs; and

• Government with 7,400 new jobs.