OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The State of Washington’s unemployment rate increased to 9.3 percent in October, up from 9.1 percent in September.
Employment Security Department officials said the state lost an estimated 5,100 non-agricultural jobs in October, seasonally adjusted.
An estimated 310,984 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in October, nearly 229,000 received state unemployment benefits.
Clark County showed one of the highest rates of joblessess with 13.7 percent, according to The Columbian.
In Oregon, the October rate was 11.3 percent.
Year over year, Washington had 120,000 fewer jobs last month than in October 2008 -- a 4.1 percent decrease. Nationally, employment declined by 4 percent over the past year, officials said.
