The city of Yakima’s average unemployment rate for 2018 was a record-low 5.5 percent according to year-end figures released today, Wednesday, by the State of Washington’s Employment Security Department.

The numbers, which are not seasonally adjusted, bested the previous record-low annual average unemployment rate of 5.9 percent set in 2017. This year marks just the second time the city’s average annual unemployment rate has dipped below 6 percent.

The figures released today also show the city of Yakima’s unemployment rate for last month was 6.4 percent, the city’s second-lowest rate ever for the month of December.