Unemployment Numbers Show Drop in Jobs

Unemployment figures for January were released Wednesday and showed that Washington lost 7,200 jobs in the state, but unemployment was steady at 5.1 percent, the same as December. Labor Economist with the Employment Security Department Paul Turek said this is the first time in 32 months that payroll numbers dropped, but he's not too concerned.

"Have 32 go through and then have one kind of fall of the end, that makes you scratch your head a bit. Given other situations [in the economy] this is looking a little bit more like an outlier."

Washington's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate topped the national rate slightly, but Turek said the 5.1 percent unemployment rate in the state is still low and a positive.

"That size tends to indicate a certain degree of strength as far as the labor market is concerned."