How many jobs were added in last month?

Updated Apr. 14, 2026Refreshed monthly
Washington state gained 5,900 jobs in January 2026, ranking it 16th among states in job growth. Those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' state employment report, which tracks monthly job changes. Job numbers can swing month to month as local economies expand or contract, but over the past five years the state has averaged about 6,400 new jobs per month. These figures are often revised in later months as more complete data rolls in.

+5.9K

month to month change in number of jobs (January 2026)

16th

rank among states in monthly job growth (January 2026)
January 2026's gain of 5,900 jobs was the 4th consecutive month of positive job growth in Washington state. Monthly job growth was up from the 3,700 new jobs in December 2025.
During the latest five year period (February 2021 to January 2026), Washington state gained jobs in 42 out of 60 months. January 2026 had the 26th-highest job growth during this period. The highest gains during this period occurred in October 2021 (+35,000) while job growth was weakest in October 2024 (-38,000).

There were 5,900 more jobs in January 2026 in Washington state than the previous month.

Monthly change in nonfarm employment, February 2021–January 2026, seasonally adjusted

Which Washington state sectors and industries had the best and worst job growth in January 2026?

The three supersectors with the highest job growth in January 2026 were construction, professional, scientific, and technical services, and non-durable goods. Construction added 4,000 jobs. Professional, scientific, and technical services gained 3,200 jobs, while non-durable goods added 1,900. The remaining supersectors either posted smaller gains or lost jobs during the month.

The health care and social assistance sector gained zero jobs during January 2026.

Change in jobs since previous month with circle size representing number of sector jobs in Washington state (January 2026)

How does Washington state's job growth in 2025 compare to previous years?

In 2025, the state has lost an average of 1,000 jobs every month. That's lower than the 2024 average monthly increase of 5,000, and the lowest since 2020. The 2025 average ranks as fourth-lowest in job growth since 2006.
When excluding the two pandemic-affected years of 2020 and 2021, job growth ranged from a loss of 10,500 on average every month in 2009 to a gain of 8,000 on average every month in 2016.

In 2025, Washington state lost an average of 1,000 jobs every month.

Average monthly change in the number of jobs, seasonally adjusted

Job growth among 11 metro areas at least partially in Washington during January 2026 ranged from a loss of 300 jobs in the Spokane, WA area to a gain of 500 jobs in the Seattle, WA area metro area.

Monthly job growth, by metro area

Metro areas where at least one of its primary counties are within Washington state

Monthly job growth, by metro area
Metro areaChange in jobs

Keep exploring

Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.