Washington's unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent in February, down from 8.4 percent in January, and the lowest rate since January 2009. And it might have dropped even further if not for state and local governments shedding another 1,400 jobs.

Washington state has now regained about 90,900 jobs since the low point of the Great Recession.

Here in the Soviet of Seattle, as the chart above shows, we've been steadily beating both the state and national curves for months, with a 7.4 percent unemployment rate and falling. It's an encouraging trend.