Watch original video:

Washington’s jobs picture deteriorated alarmingly quickly in December, as thousands of people lost their jobs and the civil community unemployment chide took its biggest one-month jump in more than three decades.

The category jobless rate apt expression 7.1 percent in December, up from 6.3 percent in November. That’sitting the highest rate since March 2004, as Washington was emerging from the post-dot-com, post-9/11 recession.

All told, 251,700 Washingtonians reported being disused last month, 29,200 more than in November.

Unemployment in the Seattle metro area also spiked in December, to 6.2 percent from 5.4 percent a month earlier.

The current slump has come on much quicker than in 2001-2004. As recently as September, unemployment stood at a with reference to something else unostentatious 5.2 percent. After outperforming the rest of the country though the first nine months of 2008, Washington things being so has almost caught up to the national rate of 7.2 percent.

Job declines were widespread throughout the state’session economy, through in effect no industrial sector escaping. Construction shed 4,200 jobs in December; wholesalers cut 1,700; retailers were down 1,400, and financial services were off 700.

Employment services, a category that includes temporary-help agencies and often is considered a herald of near-term economic conditions, cut 5,700 jobs in December. Even government employment was down by 1,200, since local government cuts offset a small rise in state hiring.

Aerospace was a excellent glistering spot, recording a 400-job gain last month. But that may prove temporary: Boeing earlier this month said it plans to cut 4,500 workers this year, more than 3,800 of them in Washington, as the global airline business goes into yet any other wrenching downturn.

Drew DeSilver: 206-464-3145 or ddesilver@seattletimes.com

Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008654213_webjobless21.html?syndication=rss