The Washington unemployment rate for August showed some improvement on a monthly basis, moving to 8.5%, compared to 10.2% the previous month. The Seattle/Bellevue/Everett unemployment rate fell from 8.2% in July to 7.4% in August. Twelve months ago the unemployment rate in Snohomish County was 3.0%, and 2.7% in King County. The August 2020 Monthly Employment Report marks the sixth month since the impacts of COVID-19 started showing up in the local labor market.

The supply of housing inventory for sale in July remained very low in the Seattle market, with 1.13 months’ supply in King County and just 0.73 months’ supply in Snohomish County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Meanwhile, single-family permits in the Seattle metro area (including King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties) were down 7% and multifamily permits down by 11% in June, compared to the same period last year.

The Office of Financial Management’s (OFM) annual population projections have been released, showing strong continued growth in Washington.