Ward Media |Â Kitsap Business
Washington state’s broadest measure of labor underutilization was significantly higher than the national average in 2024, according to data released in March by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state’s U-6 rate, which includes unemployed workers, those employed part-time for economic reasons, and people marginally attached to the labor force, stood at 9.0 percent, compared to the national rate of 7.5 percent.
Washington’s official unemployment rate (U-3) was 4.7 percent, significantly higher than the 4.0 percent national rate. The state had 186,400 unemployed residents in 2024, along with 137,000 workers employed part-time for economic reasons and 39,000 individuals marginally attached to the labor force.
Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that five of the six alternative measures of labor underutilization in Washington were not significantly different from rates recorded a year ago, while nationally all six measures showed significant increases over the year.
Among all states, Washington had the second-largest gap (3.4 percentage points) between its U-5 and U-6 rates, indicating a high incidence of involuntary part-time employment. Only California had a larger gap at 3.8 percentage points.
The data also identified 11,600 discouraged workers in Washington who had stopped looking for work because they believed no jobs were available to them, representing 30 percent of those marginally attached to the labor force.
Nationwide, 12 states had rates significantly lower than the U.S. average for all six measures of labor underutilization, while three states, including Washington, had higher rates across all measures.
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