TUMWATER, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington’s economy saw an encouraging swing in the state’s latest jobs report.
The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) said the state gained 10,600 seasonally adjusted jobs in May.
It ended two straight months of job losses and reflected the most added since December 2024.
Still, the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2%, remaining unchanged from April.
“A strong month of growth is welcome following two consecutive months of employment losses, but it doesn’t signal any meaningful shifts on its own,” Chief Labor Economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman said in a news release. “Although the unemployment rate remained unchanged this month, it continues a trend of small incremental increases throughout 2025 and the first half of 2026, signaling an increasingly challenging labor market for job seekers.”
Leisure and hospitality saw most of the private-sector job gains, while manufacturing and construction also got boosts.
Whatcom County’s May jobs report is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 23.
