OLYMPIA – Despite an estimated increase of 5,700 jobs last month, Washington’s unemployment rate in July remained unchanged at 9.3 percent, according to the state’s Employment Security Department.

The holding pattern occurred after June’s unemployment rate was revised upward from an original estimate of 9.2 percent.  Job growth in June also was revised upward, from 3,600 to 4,700. 

“When the unemployment rate refuses to budget, people tend to not notice that we’ve added jobs for 11 months straight,” said Dave Wallace, the acting chief economist for Employment Security.  “The job gains have been steady, but not enough to chip away at the unemployment rate.”

Industries that posted gains in July were leisure and hospitality, which added 1,700 jobs; manufacturing, up 1,600; retail trade, up 1,200; transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 1,200; professional and business services, up 1,100; financial activities, up 1,000; construction, up 800; and government, up 500.

Jobs were lost in other services, down 2,200, and information, down 1,000.

Year over year, more than 37,000 jobs have been added in Washington. This includes a gain of 46,000 private-sector jobs and a loss of 8,800 government jobs.  

An estimated 311,027 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in July, and 185,358 of them received unemployment benefits.  As of Aug. 6, 60,432 workers in Washington had run out of all unemployment benefits.  

Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services for job seekers, including free help with interviewing skills, résumés and job referrals. WorkSource also can help employers recruit and screen for qualified workers, apply for employment tax breaks and qualify for subsidized employee training. 

Yakima workers earn 14 percent less than national average

The latest BLS News Release showing employment and wage data for occupations in the Yakima area is now available online at www.bls.gov/ro9/oesyaki.pdf.

Employment counts and average hourly rates of pay are available for all jobs in the area.  Items of note include:

· The average worker in the Yakima area earned $18.38/hr in May 2010, roughly 14 percent below the U.S. average of $21.35/hr

· Management occupations in the area were highest paid at $45.90/hr, followed by Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations at $34.18/hr

· Transportation and Material Moving occupations made up 11.5 percent of local employment, compared to the national rate of 6.7 percent

· Yakima area had the 8th highest concentration of Transportation/Material Moving workers out of 400+ metro areas.

·One other occupational group also had over 10 percent of the total area employment: Office and Administrative Support.