A day after Oregon delivered a virtually unchanged monthly jobs report for March, neighboring Washington did the same. Washington's employment department pegged the state's unemployment rate last month at 8.3 percent. That's the same as the revised rate for February.
The state's chief labor economist Dave Wallace says manufacturing continues to lead the recovery, but the overall picture indicates slowing growth. "We did grow a little faster than the nation as a whole. So I would say that while the pace was a little bit disappointing, at least we're moving in the right direction and most sectors added jobs."
The employment department estimates 289,400 Washingtonians were unemployed and looking for work in March. That's down from a peak of more than 365,000 measured about two years ago.
Oregon's unemployment rate edged down to 8-point-6 percent in March, essentially unchanged from the 8-point-7 percent rate the month before. Idaho's rate is 8.0, new numbers come out Friday.
