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Washington Unemployment Drops, But Economic Weaknesses Remain

NWNews | By Tom Banse,
Tom Banse
Published December 18, 2013 at 3:58 PM MST

The unemployment rate in Washington dropped a notch in November.

New numbers released by the state Wednesday peg the jobless rate at 6.8 percent -- down from 7 percent in October.

State labor economist PaulTureksays the number of new jobs created last month fell short of his expectations. He says the weakness in the local manufacturing, housing and government sectors may just be temporary.

"If one can be optimistic at the national level -- and I think there is a good case for that -- then there is reason to believe we will follow that in the future," says Turek.

Tuesday, Oregon reported its lowest unemployment rate in five years. But the state's current jobless rate of 7.3 percent is still half a percentage point higher than Washington's.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Northwest News Network
Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers business, environment, public policy, human interest and national news across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be heard during "Morning Edition," "Weekday," and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
See stories by Tom Banse
Tom Banse
Tom Banse covers national news, business, science, public policy, Olympic sports and human interest stories from across the Northwest. He reports from well known and out–of–the–way places in the region where important, amusing, touching, or outrageous events are unfolding. Tom's stories can be found online and heard on-air during "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" on NPR stations in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

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