MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Report: Plenty of job openings for WA workers

Oct 8, 2012, 5:01 PM | Updated: 6:20 pm

Employers in Washington state had 52,000 job vacancies in May and June, according to new data from ...

Employers in Washington state had 52,000 job vacancies in May and June, according to new data from the Employment Security Department. (AP Photo/File)

(AP Photo/File)

Employers in Washington state had 52,000 job vacancies in May and June, according to new data from the Employment Security Department.

According to the 2012 Job Vacancy and Hiring Survey Report, there were roughly 11,000 job openings in healthcare and social assistance, 7,000 in retail trade, and around 5,600 in accommodation and food services.

The findings are based on a survey of 11,700 Washington businesses.

“Business are hiring all the time. There may be less of it now than there was during better times but it is out there,” said Sheryl Hutchinson, spokesperson for the state Employment Security Department. “If you work really hard and make yourself known to those employers, they are hiring from the outside so there are jobs out there.”

The survey also found that Washington businesses hired nearly 117,800 workers from January to March, with most of those positions in retail and farming.

The average hourly wage for a worker hired during that period was $15.45.

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Report: Plenty of job openings for WA workers