Wash. state jobless rate jumps to 9.5 percent

[The Northerner]

Source: Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington's unemployment rate jumped to 9.5 percent in December, the state's highest rate since 1984, state officials said on Wednesday.

Dave Wallace, chief economist with the Employment Security Department, said that despite the month-to-month rise in unemployment, there was some good news: the 23,700 jobs lost in the last six months of 2009 were notably less than the 80,000 job losses in the first six months of the year.

"Employment is a lagging economic indicator, so coming out of a recession, it is typical for jobs to be the last thing to return," he said. "But overall, job losses are clearly trending downward, and that's a positive sign."

November's unemployment rate, originally reported at 9.2 percent, was later revised down to 9 percent. Wallace said the state unemployment rate hit 9.6 percent in February 1984. The highest rate since the mid-1970s was in November 1982, when it hit 12.2 percent.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100120/ap_on_bi_ge/us_wash_jobless