| It appears that 2007 was a strong year for the construction industry in Washington State, generating 13,700 new jobs from December 2006 to December 200 — the largest year-over-year payroll gain of all industries in Washington.
Construction’s total payroll head count reached a record high of 213,700 seasonally adjusted jobs in December, with the industry’s gains in Washington a stark contrast to national trends. According to the state’s Employment Security Department construction payrolls on the national level declined in nine of the 12 months during 2007, while Washington’s construction industry continued to hit record levels throughout the year.
In an article discussing the difference between the ailing national construction market and Washington’s robust market, The Seattle Times, noting the large number of construction jobs created in 2007, stated on Jan. 16, “Washington’s construction industry, like the state’s housing market, defied the national real-estate downturn.” The record setting employment levels of the state’s construction industry clearly played a part in Washington’s record low annual unemployment rate of 4.7 percent for the year (4.7 percent is the lowest annual unemployment rate since the current method of tracking unemployment was instituted in 1976). |
