The Washington State economy added 79,600 new jobs over the past 12 months. This impressive growth rate—2.4%—is well above the national rate of 1.2%. However, as we anticipated in last quarter’s report, we are seeing a modest slowdown in the growth rate as the state moves closer to full employment. Expansion has taken place in all major job sectors other than Aerospace...

The State of Oregon has added 37,400 new jobs over the past 12 months, with solid gains in Construction (+11,600), Education & Health Services (+9,000), and Trade, Transportation & Utilities (+8,000) sectors. Year-over-year, employment in Oregon has risen 2.0%. In September, the state unemployment rate was 4.2%—up from 3.7% at the end of the second quarter but down from 4.9% in September 2016.

Employment growth in Washington State continues to slow as it moves closer to full employment. The state added 79,600 jobs between August 2016 and August 2017, and I still predict that we will see an additional 70,000 jobs by the end of the year. Eastern Washington has seen a pickup in employment, with 15,307 jobs added over the past 12 months.

Colorado added 45,800 non-agricultural jobs over the past 12 months, a growth rate of 1.8%. Within the metropolitan market areas included in this report, annual employment growth was seen in all areas other than Grand Junction (where employment was stable) with substantial growth seen in Fort Collins (4.6%) and Greeley (3.5%).