Wash. unemployment rate increases to 8.6 percent

OLYMPIA — Washington state’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.6 percent in August, and the state saw a net loss of 1,100 jobs from the previous month. The numbers released today by the Employment Security Department show that the August unemployment rate increased from the July rate of 8.5 percent, the second consecutive month the state has seen an increase. There was good news in the construction industry, which saw a net gain of 1,900 jobs last month, the most of any sector in the state. Since August 2011, the construction industry has seen a net gain of 3,900 jobs. The job losses are a turnaround from July, which had seen an estimated gain of 5,900 jobs, a number that was revised up from 5,000 since the last employment report.