Economic Security: Job opportunities
What does this measure?
- Job opportunities is the total number of persons on establishment payrolls employed full or part time who received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th day of the month.
- Temporary and intermittent employees are included, as are any workers who are on paid sick leave, on paid holiday, or who work during only part of the specified pay period.
- Data exclude proprietors, self-employed, unpaid family or volunteer workers, farm workers, and domestic workers.
Why is it important?
- Job growth is an indicator of the expansion in the economy. That expansion represents the increase in employment opportunities available to Washington's workers.
- In this particular instance, job growth is tracked from month to month in an effort so determine whether the nonfarm economy is performing as expected.
How is Washington doing?
- This graph depicts the total nonfarm employment (seasonally adjusted) and jobs added in Washington since January 2005.
- From January of 2005 to January of 2008, nonfarm employment in Washington grew by 220,100 jobs.
What is state government’s role?
- The state's primary role in employment growth is to provide the infrastructure, in terms of education and training, workforce development, transportation, and other public services that reduces the transaction costs associated with economic activity.
- Adequate infrastructure enables private business, the engine of employment growth, to better respond to emerging economic opportunities. In addition, the state can assist in employment growth by fostering a competitive business climate.
Graph & Data Set
| Job Opportunities (non-farm, in thousands) | |
|---|---|
2005 |
2,739 |
2006 |
2,829 |
2007 |
2,897 |
2008 |
2,959 |
For more information…
Contact: Employment Security Department