Washington’s economy continued to expand in December, capping a year-long trend of steady job growth, according to the state Employment Security Department.

Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2005 dropped to 5.3 percent, down from 5.6 percent the previous month. The decline was due to fewer people looking for work. By comparison, the unemployment rate in December 2004 was 5.9 percent.

Seasonally adjusted non-farm employment was up by 5,400 from November to December 2005, to approximately 2.8 million jobs statewide. Over the year, Washington employers added 79,500 net new jobs, while the number of unemployed workers fell by 16,934 since December 2004.

“Washington’s economy thrived throughout 2005, with employers adding new jobs every month,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee. “The state is in a good place, and we’re carrying a lot of momentum into the new year.”

Employment Security economists said that job gains last month continued to be widespread across industries. The increase was led by a surge in hiring by professional and business services firms, which added 3,700 new jobs. Leisure and hospitality and the construction industries also saw significant gains, adding 1,700 and 1,600 jobs, respectively.

Lee said she encourages the estimated 176,450 unemployed workers in Washington to visit a local WorkSource office and to check online job listings at http://www.go2worksource.com.