State sees historic monthly drop in unemployment rate but...
EVERETT — Washington’s jobless rate dropped by a record 5.3% in the month of June, according to the state Employment Security Department. The decrease to 9.8% from a 15.1% mark in May was the biggest month-to-month reduction since at least 1990.
Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist for the agency covering Northwest Washington, said that while the one-month decline was remarkable, the unemployment rate is still very high. For perspective, she said the highest the mark reached during the 2008 Great Recession was 10.4%.
“I expect to see a bounce-back of some jobs, but the rest of the recovery will not likely be as swift as what we saw in June,” Vance-Sherman said in an email.
A preliminary estimate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the state gained 71,000 jobs last month and for the first time in 2020, Washington’s monthly unemployment was less than the national rate of 11.1%.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-sees-historic-monthly-drop-in-unemployment-rate-but/
