County jobless figure rises slightly

EVERETT -- Unemployment climbed slightly in Snohomish County in November, as job gains in education, health care and retail cushioned losses in construction and manufacturing.

"We are still in a pretty tough environment," said Donna Thompson, regional economist for state Employment Security Department on Tuesday. "We are still facing more job losses because companies are laying off people."

The county's total jobs remained at 261,800 in November, maintaining the October figure that excluded the Boeing Machinists strike. But the county's unemployment rate rose to 6.3 percent in November from 6 percent in October, Thompson said.

That's partly because unemployed construction and aerospace workers aren't getting new jobs in other fields, Thompson said. As a result, more people are looking for work in Snohomish County.

In April, the county's unemployment rate was 3.6 percent -- the lowest this year. Since then, it has continued to go up as the recession has deepened.

The county's unemployment rate in November was the same as the state's without accounting for adjustments in seasonal labor. The state's seasonally adjusted rate was 6.4 percent in November. That's up from 6.3 percent in October.

The state lost 11,700 jobs in November. Over the last 12 months, it lost 22,400 jobs.

Those numbers are discouraging, but Washington still looks better than the rest of the nation, said Mary Ayala, chief economist for the employment security department.

"Washington is more of a service-based economy," Ayala said.

Education and health care fields tend to weather an economic downturn better than construction and manufacturing, Ayala said.

"Some of those services are basic," she said. "Some of them don't get lost just because we are in a recession."

Nationwide, more than a half-million jobs were lost in November, as the financial crisis that stemmed from risky mortgages continued to plague various industries. The national unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.

The federal government continues to try to shore up financial institutions to ease the credit crunch. Congress is preparing a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package to generate many jobs to rebuild the nation's infrastructure.

"The quicker that happens, the more jobs will be created in Washington," Ayala said.

In Snohomish County, retail added 300 jobs, and education and health care added 200 jobs in November, Thompson said. That offset job losses in construction and manufacturing.

The county usually adds more jobs in November when the number of seasonal jobs increase, Thompson said. Unemployment is expected to go up further in January when those temporary jobs disappear.

"What has to happen is that the whole housing thing has to level out," she said.

As long as the housing crisis brings down home prices and causes foreclosures, consumer confidence would remain low, Thompson said. That would hurt construction and manufacturing sectors.

"People are scared," she said. "They are afraid to lose their home."

In addition to home builders, companies that make products for new homes are hurting, Thompson added.

Milgard Manufacturing Inc. announced in October it will shut down its Marysville factory, affecting about 80 nonunion workers, according to the state. The company makes doors and windows for homes.



Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.