Unemployment rate in Washington reaches record high in April
OLYMPIA — Washington’s unemployment rate shot up to a record 15.4% in April and the state’s economy lost 527,000 jobs last month as a result of the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s the highest jobless rate the state has seen since it started keeping comparable records in the 1970s.
April’s rate, released Wednesday by the state’s Employment Security Department, is a significant jump from March’s 5.1%, though officials had warned April’s numbers would more truly reflect the widespread closing of restaurants and other businesses that started in mid-March. February’s unemployment rate was 3.8%.
The previous record was 12.2% in November 1982, said Paul Turek, an economist for the department.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/unemployment-rate-in-washington-reaches-record-high-in-april/
