Tagged: Washington unemployment

OLYMPIA, Wash. - The unemployment rate held steady at 9-point-3 percent in Washington state in August. The state Employment Department released fresh jobs numbers Wednesday, a day after Oregon reported a slight uptick in its unemployment rate. Now it's at 9-point-6 percent.

In Washington, Employment Department chief economist Dave Wallace says the private sector statewide has added jobs for twelve months in a row now. But he says jobs need to be added at a faster pace to chip away at the unemployment rate.

Washington's jobless rate is turning back up, reaching 9.3 percent in July after falling to as low as 9.1 percent earlier this year.

With Washington’s unemployment hovering at 9.2 percent and the economy sputtering along, new figures released yesterday in British Columbia makes one wonder if going north might not be the next big emigration story.

A new provincial government report predicts the number of skilled workers needed will exceed the supply of workers available by 2016. One million job openings are expected in B.C. by 2020.