Washington has lost 5.3 percent of its jobs since the recession

Over the past several months, the unemployment rate in Washington has remained pretty flat, flagging between 8.9 and 9.0 percent. Although there have been jobs added in some areas, it hasn’t been enough to compensate for the jobs lost elsewhere. In September, the private sector added 1,000 jobs while the public sector lost 4,200.

It’s a problem that extends far beyond our state. Paul Wiseman of the Associated Press reported this week that the national economy is growing at about 2 percent a year…enough to provide jobs for people entering the workforce in a normal economy, but not enough to compensate for the jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007.

This interactive map posted last week by the Economic Policy Institute shows how serious the problem is. Washington has lost 5.3 percent of its jobs since the recession began almost three years ago. Other states are doing far worse: Nevada has lost 14.2 percent of its jobs, and Michigan has lost 10 percent. Only two states–North Dakota and Alaska–and Washington D.C. have added jobs since December 2007.

Still, as Seattle Business Magazine editor Leslie Helm points out, Washington is ahead of the national average in unemployment, at 9.0 percent to the national 9.6 percent. We also have 4.27 online job postings for every 100 workers in the labor force, compared to the average of 2.79 for the nation. Executives in Washington are also optimistic, as Josh Warborg of Robert Half International stated a few weeks ago. In the Pacific region, 11 percent of executives polled say they expect to increase staff. In the professional services category, 36 percent of executives in Washington state anticipate growth.

More on the story of the job gap in Washington in the weeks to come.