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Washington: Unemployment rate

People are counted as unemployed if they are at least 16 years old, are without a job and available for work, and have recently made specific efforts to find employment. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the entire labor force.

Washington's monthly unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in November, 2015. This compares to 5.0 percent in the U.S. as a whole.

 

Washington's average annual unemployment rate in 2014 . . .

  • was 6.2 percent compared to 6.2 percent for the U.S.;
     
  • was less than the previous year's rate of 7.0 percent.
 

To get the most out of this indicator . . .

 

Ask questions:

 

·         How is your county faring in the current economic climate (e.g., how do local unemployment rates compare to state and national rates)?

·         Are unemployment rates increasing or decreasing?

 

Look at other indicators:

 

·         “Employment: Number of jobs” – Is the total number of jobs increasing or decreasing?

 

Dig deeper:

 

·         Look at the county rankings for your state and/or view maps to see how your county compares to others.

·         Take a Big Picture view of your county.

·         If you have specific questions, send us an e-mail.



Note: Monthly data for counties and states are not seasonally adjusted. The Bureau of Labor Statistics often revises previous estimates. Data are adjusted accordingly on this website.

Source: 1991-2015: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Labor Force Data by County, (http://stats.bls.gov/lau/home.htm); DATE LAST UPDATED: January 13, 2016.




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