Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington's unemployment rate increased slightly in June, but state officials believe the economy is starting to stabilize.

The June jobless rate, released Tuesday, was 9.3 percent, up two-tenths.

Washington lost about 10,000 jobs, almost half of those in local and state government.

Still, Greg Weeks from the state Employment Security Department says the rate of job loss was lower in the second quarter than during the first three months of the year.

He says Washington is also in better shape than its neighbor to the south, especially in manufacturing industries.

Greg Weeks: “Oregon relies a lot on high-tech, light manufacturing. And I just think the industry mix is such that we're relatively well-positioned compared to Oregon or California, which is 11-something percent.”

Oregon's jobless rate for June was 12.2 percent.

Idaho is at 8.3. That's the highest level of unemployment in the Gem State in 25 years.