{"id":28042,"date":"2013-12-20T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T20:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/?p=28042"},"modified":"2013-12-20T12:30:35","modified_gmt":"2013-12-20T20:30:35","slug":"unemployment-labor-participation-flat-in-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattlebubble.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/20\/unemployment-labor-participation-flat-in-november\/","title":{"rendered":"Unemployment & Labor Participation Flat in November"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jobs data for November was released this week, so let’s take an updated look at the Seattle area’s unemployment rate and approximate labor participation rate alongside the national numbers.<\/p>\n

\"Unemployment<\/a><\/p>\n

In November the Seattle area’s unemployment rate broke a four-month streak of increases, dipping just slightly from 5.7% in October to 5.6% last month. We are still in much better shape than the national job market, which had an unemployment rate of 7.0% in November.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, our labor participation rate fell slightly in November, dropping from 69.4% to 69.3%. The national labor force participation rate in November rose 0.2 points to 63.0%.<\/p>\n

For reference, in 2006 when everyone imagined the economy to be in great health, the local unemployment rate averaged 4.3% and the labor participation rate averaged 69.5%. Our labor force participation rate is still on par with the pre-bust period, but the unemployment rate needs to drop another percent and a half to reach the pre-bust levels. I still expect to see both measures back to early 2006 levels some time next year.<\/p>\n

Next week we’ll take a look at job growth in the usual sectors around Seattle.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n