OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington’s unemployment rate posted its biggest drop in June in records going back to at least 1990.

The June statewide unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 9.8%, down from 15.1% in May.

The Employment Security department says the state economy added 71,700 private jobs in June, led by retail and leisure industry jobs; while government employment dropped by 700.

The department’s lead economist called the gains a welcome surprise and “another step in the right direction”.