OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A surge of new jobseekers hit Washington's economy in August, nudging the state's unemployment rate up even as employers continued to fatten their payrolls.

Washington added 2,800 nonfarm jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, the state Employment Security Department said Tuesday. The unemployment rate grew to 5.8 percent, a slight increase from the 5.6 percent reported in July.

The national unemployment rate declined slightly, to 4.9 percent.

August's job growth was much smaller than the remarkable 12,800 new jobs added in July and 7,600 in June, but still marks the 12th consecutive month of payroll increases.

Those new jobs, however, were not enough to satisfy 27,000 new people looking for work -- the highest one-month jump in the labor force in the past five years, officials said.

"The exceptional job gains we've experienced over the summer have encouraged many more Washington residents to look for work," Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said. "At the end of the day, demand for labor remains firm and the outlook for continued job growth is quite positive."

The state's jobless rate is now nearly a full percentage point higher than the national rate, but that matches the average gap between the two figures in the past 10 years, state labor economist Roberta Pauer said.

Washington has added a net of 83,900 jobs in the past year, an average of about 7,000 each month.

That rate is expected to slow to about 5,000 per month for the next year, but unemployment is projected to hold steady, officials said.

Normal summer losses in local education were pegged at about 15,900 in August, but nearly every other major sector saw job gains.

Construction led the way with 3,800 new jobs, and professional and business services added 2,900. Leisure and hospitality businesses expanded by 1,800 jobs, while retail firms added 1,400 and manufacturing payrolls grew by 1,300.

A year ago, the state unemployment rate was 6.1 percent, and the national rate was 5.4 percent.

Compared with one year ago, employment is up 72,300, or 2.7 percent. About 183,000 people are still out of work.

Unemployment rates, not seasonally adjusted, in metropolitan areas around the state: Bellingham, 5.0 percent; Bremerton, 5.4; Longview, 7.4; Mount Vernon-Anacortes, 5.6; Olympia, 5.1; Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, 4.5; Spokane, 5.8; Tacoma, 6.2; Tri-Cities, 6; Wenatchee, 6.2; and Yakima, 7.8.

These labor market areas also were reported: Aberdeen, 7.4 percent; Centralia, 7.4; Ellensburg, 5.4; Moses Lake, 6.2; Oak Harbor, 6.1; Port Angeles, 6.2; Pullman, 4.4; Shelton, 6.3; and Walla Walla, 5.5.

Unemployment rates in these counties were: Adams, 5.4 percent; Asotin, 6.5; Benton, 6; Chelan, 6.4; Clark, 7.6; Columbia, 8.2; Douglas, 5.9; Ferry, 7.8; Franklin, 6.2; Garfield, 4.4; Jefferson, 5; King, 4.5; Klickitat, 7.5; Lincoln, 5.6; Okanogan, 6.7; Pacific, 6; Pend Oreille, 7.1; San Juan, 3.4; Skamania, 7.7; Snohomish, 4.6; Stevens, 7.1; and Wahkiakum, 6.8.