If flat is the new up, then maybe this morning's unemployment report from the state's Employment Security Department is actually good news. The unemployment rate stood at 9.1 percent in April, the same rate as the previous month and the first time in more than a year that it didn't increase on a month-to-month basis.
“We don’t know what the future holds, but for now it’s great to see our unemployment rate holding steady,” said Washington Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee in a statement.
The information sector, which includes many software and high-tech jobs, saw slight declines for the month and year with employment dropping by just 0.8 percent.
"Unlike other sectors, the overall losses have been moderate and employment declines have not reflected a consistent trend," the report said.
By comparison, industries such as construction, professional and business services and manufacturing saw declines of 20 percent or more compared to the same period last year.
There are now 322,200 unemployed people in the state, an 89 percent increase over the same period last year.
The report notes that it "remains to be seen if this moderation in unemployment is sustainable or not."
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