About 5,800 jobs added in Washington last month

About 5,800 jobs were added in Washington state last month, bringing the state unemployment rate to 9.1 percent from 9.2 percent in March. About 41,500 jobs have been added in the state in the last 12 months, the Employment Security Department reported today. “We’re beginning to see job growth pick up and some real momentum,” department Commissioner Paul Trause said in a news release. The biggest gains in April were posted in the construction industry (up 2,400); professional and business services (1,700); manufacturing (1,200); retail trade (900); transportation, warehousing and utilities (900); information (900); education and health services (900); financial activities (500); and wholesale trade (200). The industries losing the greatest number of jobs were government (2,500); other services (800); and leisure and hospitality (500).