By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The Employment Security Department’s latest Monthly Employment Report shows a strong labor market in Washington and Seattle. As reported in the November Builder’s Bulletin, Washington’s unemployment rate for September fell to 4.4 percent, representing a 42-year low based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data series. The Seattle/Bellevue/Everett unemployment rate was 3.4 percent.

The Builders' Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report:

This week, Bob Smith from Advanced Insurance Solutions shares why he's been an MBAKS member for 28 years.

Learn more about member benefits

The City of Bellevue has launched an update to the Bellevue Map Viewer - its interactive map platform. Members of the community can access more development and construction information, including building permits for new and altered single family and multifamily projects, right of ways, fire, utilities, and land use actions.

To explore the permit data layer, access Bellevue Map Viewer on the main Maps and GIS page, select the "Permits" layer and ZOOM in.

Please contact rbc@mbaks.com with any questions.