State unemployment rate holding steady; county rate evening out after summer rise

For the third month in a row Washington's unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent, according to estimates by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The drop to 5.3 percent in June marked the lowest unemployment rate the state had seen in seven years when the previous low stood at 5.6 percent in August 2008. The state peaked in February 2010 ― the end of the employment recession in Washington ―at 10.2 percent, after having been at 4.6 percent in February 2008, when the employment recession began.

One year ago, the August 2014 unemployment rate was 6.2 percent.

According to the BLS report, non-farm employment in Washington rose by 1,600 from July to August, and the private sector gained 900 jobs while the public sector gained 700 jobs. In a year's time, the BLS estimates a gain of 84,800 jobs in the private sector and 7,400 jobs in the public sector.

On a county level, the unemployment rate is beginning to level out after the typical summer time decline. In May, the county stood at a 4.4 percent rate, the third lowest in the state, but rose to 5.8 percent in June and 6.3 percent in July. The jumps were attributed to seasonal trends typically seen in June, July and August in the county because of Washington State University, labor economist Doug Tweedy said.

The August unemployment rate for Whitman County significantly dipped to 4.7 percent, putting the county back with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state (ranked fifth) and back below the state and national averages.

On the national level, the unemployment rate dipped from 5.3 to 5.1 percent, compared to 6.1 percent at this same time last year. The 5.1 percent rate is one of the lowest rates in more than seven years.