Oregon Public Broadcasting

Unemployment in Washington State stayed the same between March and April.  The rate held steady at 9.1 percent the state reported Tuesday.

This is the first time in more than a year that joblessness did not rise from one month to the next.

Washington’s chief labor economist Mary Ayala calls that “a first encouraging note.” However, she expects the unemployment rate to stay high in the coming months because companies are hesitant about hiring people back.

Mary Ayala: “Even though the rate has not climbed steeply -- as it has in the last few months -- it’s much too soon to assume the unemployment rate will start going down.”

In Idaho and Oregon, the unemployment rate also leveled off in April.  But the 12 percent jobless rate in Oregon is among the highest in the nation.