Things are looking up in Washington state. Officials say the state added 12,400 jobs in January, which is the first monthly gain in employment in Washington since November 2008.

Even with the jobs increase, the unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent from December’s revised rate of 9.2 percent. Still, state officials are optimistic things are improving on the jobs front. “It’s encouraging to see jobs finally coming back,” said Karen Lee, Employment Security Commissioner. “I hope it signals the beginning of a job-full recovery, not a job-less recovery.”

The employment sectors that saw the largest job gains include retail trade, which added 3,000 jobs, educational and health services (2,800 jobs) and construction (2,700 jobs). The heaviest job losses came in the transportation, warehousing and utilities sector (900 jobs).