Stephen H. Dunphy

The last drop came in March 2007, with a record low of 4.4 percent. The current 9.2 percent is still high, but trending the right way.

Updated reports show snowpack levels are dwindling in most areas of the state, raising worries about water supplies later in the year.

The state's unemployment rate is still rising and jobs are still disappearing, though not as fast as in the past year. Here's a survey of Washington state's economy, which has shed 166,500 jobs since...