Employers in Washington state added 39,000 jobs during the 12-month period ending in February, preliminary data from the Washington state Employment Security Department shows. 

However, despite the gains over the course of the year, total jobs in Washington decreased in February compared with January, preliminary data show. Nonfarm employment dropped by about 7,200 jobs in the month-to-month comparisons. Of those, about 6,900 were in the private sector.

“Job growth has been slowing over the past several months, and so far, 2025 is off to a slow start,” says Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist at the Employment Security Department, in a press release.

The unemployment rate in Washington was 4.4% in February, the same rate as the year-earlier month. The unemployment rate was slightly lower, at 4.3%, in January.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate was 4.1% in February, up from 3.9% in the year-earlier month and 4% in January.

Washington’s labor force in February was about 4.1 million people, up by roughly 12,000 people a year earlier, but down about 4,500 from the previous month.