The state gained jobs in March, and the unemployment rate went up too.

That’s the latest from the Washington Employment Security department, which just released its March numbers.

Even though there were 1,600 jobs added in March, about 6,000 more people were looking for work — leading to the uptick in the unemployment rate to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent in February.

It’s likely that many of those 6,000 previously grew discouraged, stopped looking for work and are now job-hunting again, Dave Wallace, an economist at Employment Security, said in a news release.

People who are unemployed but not actively seeking work are not factored into the unemployment rate. When they rejoin the job market faster than jobs are created, that causes the unemployment rate to rise.

“This is a common phenomenon during an economic recovery,” said Wallace. “As people grow more optimistic about their job prospects, they start looking again.”

The job gains in March is the second time in three months the state has posted positive job numbers. Before that, the state had 13 consecutive months of job losses stretching from the end of 2008 to the end of 2009.

Here’s more from the news release:

“This recovery is going to take time, but the latest job gains are another positive indicator that we’re on the right track,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.

Industries that added jobs in March were professional and business services, up 1,500; retail trade, up 500; leisure and hospitality, up 500; government, up 400; wholesale trade, up 300; transportation, warehousing and utilities, up 300; information, up 300; and mining and logging, up 200.

Meanwhile, construction dropped an estimated 1,400 jobs in March. Other industries that shed jobs were financial activities, down 700, and education and health services, down 300.

Year over year, Washington had 67,800 fewer jobs last month than in March 2009, a 2.4 percent decrease.  Nationally, employment was down 1.8 percent compared to a year ago.

An estimated 347,720 people (not seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work, and more than 291,000 people received unemployment benefits from Washington in March.

Anyone who is looking for work should consider visiting a local WorkSource career center. Employment Security is a partner in the statewide WorkSource system, which offers a variety of employment and training services, including free help with interviewing skills, résumés and job referrals.