While unemployment in the area has slightly increased, many Seattle jobs have been added to the city’s workforce.

In June, the Seattle area added 8,000 jobs, according to an article by the Washington State Employment Security Department, with the goods producing sector adding 2,300 jobs and the services providing sector adding 5,700 jobs. The leisure and hospitality industry showed the largest increase adding 2,600 jobs, followed by the government industry, which added 1,500 jobs in June.

The construction industry added 800 jobs, falling short of seasonal expectations. The manufacturing industry added 1,500 jobs, while the aerospace products and parts manufacturing industry added 600 jobs.

The transportation and warehousing industry increased by 600 jobs, although air transportation itself lost 100 jobs. The information industry added 500 jobs during June, including an increase of 1,000 jobs in software publishing and a decrease in telecommunications and other parts of the industry.

“While it may be expected that information firms would add jobs while hiring fresh college graduates, the information industry numbers went up, even given seasonal considerations,” the article notes. “Note that the increase in software publishing jobs may be partially due to reclassification of employees after mergers or acquisitions rather than creation of fresh positions.”

The real estate and rental leasing industry experienced no real change in employment, partially due to the slower growth of the construction industry. The healthcare industry also saw no change. The professional and business services industry lost 500 jobs and the education services industry lost 700 jobs.

“But education employment typically declines at summer’s opening, and when viewed in this light, education employment is stronger than expected, up 1,200, seasonally adjusted,” the article states.

According to the Workforce Explorer, King County, where Seattle is located, employed 1,091,270 people in July 2008 and had an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

The fastest growing occupations through 2016 in Seattle include:

• computer and information scientists with an expected 1,373 jobs
• chiropractors with an expected 964 jobs
• computer software engineers with an expected 16,803 jobs
• multi-media artists and animators with an expected 4,772 jobs
• computer programmers with an expected 12,353 jobs

The occupations with the highest hourly wages include: chief executives at $93.19, obstetricians and gynecologists at $85.28, general dentists at $81.38, physicians and surgeons at $78.82 and general internists at $77.50.