Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington state's unemployment rate has dropped for the first time since April. Washington's new jobless rate is 9.1 percent.

Caitlin Cormier is with the Employment Security Department. In a conference call with reporters, she cautioned against reading too much into the decline.

Caitlin Cormier: “As a non-economist what I've learned from the economists in that trends are extremely important so you do have to look over a little bit of time. So I think it's interesting to look at, but we really do need a little more information to be able to actually say this is definitely pointing in a certain direction.”

Four thousand new jobs were created last month in Washington.  The biggest job gains were in education and health services. The biggest losses continue to be in construction.

Oregon's unemployment rate also dropped slightly last month to 11.9 percent. The situation in Idaho though continues to get worse. The jobless rate there is 8.8 percent – a 26-year high.