Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Jobless figures in county at highest mark since 1986
EVERETT — Scott Brown, who recently lost his job as a truck driver, clearly sees the bad economy putting his dreams on hold.
He’s not alone.
Some 3,600 people lost jobs in Snohomish County last month as unemployment soared to an estimated 8.5 percent, the worst it’s been in nearly 23 years.
“It got slow,” Brown, of Edmonds, said Tuesday while visiting WorkSource in Everett. “And I was the newest employee. They were cutting back.”
Donna Thompson, a labor economist for the state Employment Security Department, said 5,510 people were added to the county’s group of job seekers in January. The number seeking work is larger than the number of jobs lost in the county last month because some people lost work elsewhere and others recently started looking for a job again.
“It’s not the worst it’s been, but it’s the worst in 23 years,” Thompson said. “That’s something.”
She said she had to look back to February 1986 to find an equivalent period. Then, unemployment in the county was 8.6 percent. She said that month was also during a national recession that saw a lot of manufacturers, including the Boeing Co., cutting back dramatically. She said things were even worse a few years earlier. In May of 1982, unemployment in the county hit a high point for the period of 12.5 percent.
Last month unemployment in the county increased 1.5 percentage points from a December rate of 7 percent.
Thompson noted that things are likely to get worse in the coming months because Boeing, the major employer, has just begun a series of planned layoffs.
“I’m not seeing any relief in aerospace in the near future,” Thompson said. “It’s not just aerospace. I’m seeing weakness in almost every sector.”
Aerospace jobs remained flat in January because Boeing had yet to begun its layoffs. But other manufacturers cut 200 workers. Other major cutbacks came in retail trade, restaurants and hotels and government services.
Not adjusted for seasonal changes, the statewide, unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in January, Thompson said, adding, “The whole state is hurting. It’s not just us.”
Statewide, job losses were also in most industries, with large declines in manufacturing, construction, wholesalers of durable goods, computer system design, and hotels and restaurants.
At the unemployment office Tuesday, painter Steven Swarthout, 53, said he’s used to things being slower in winter. But he feared that things would continue to be tough in the spring and summer as few new homes are built and people try to paint on their own to save money.
Even experienced and skilled workers are having a hard time finding work, said Jared O’Loughlin, who lost his job as an auto mechanic in October. O’Loughlin, 26, of Everett has moved in with his parents. He said he has several years of experience as a mechanic, but may have to work for a fast-food place.
There aren’t simply many jobs, O’Loughlin said.
““It’s like a full-time job looking for a job when you are not working,” he said. “And it costs you money to look for a job.”
He’s not alone.
Some 3,600 people lost jobs in Snohomish County last month as unemployment soared to an estimated 8.5 percent, the worst it’s been in nearly 23 years.
“It got slow,” Brown, of Edmonds, said Tuesday while visiting WorkSource in Everett. “And I was the newest employee. They were cutting back.”
Donna Thompson, a labor economist for the state Employment Security Department, said 5,510 people were added to the county’s group of job seekers in January. The number seeking work is larger than the number of jobs lost in the county last month because some people lost work elsewhere and others recently started looking for a job again.
“It’s not the worst it’s been, but it’s the worst in 23 years,” Thompson said. “That’s something.”
She said she had to look back to February 1986 to find an equivalent period. Then, unemployment in the county was 8.6 percent. She said that month was also during a national recession that saw a lot of manufacturers, including the Boeing Co., cutting back dramatically. She said things were even worse a few years earlier. In May of 1982, unemployment in the county hit a high point for the period of 12.5 percent.
Last month unemployment in the county increased 1.5 percentage points from a December rate of 7 percent.
Thompson noted that things are likely to get worse in the coming months because Boeing, the major employer, has just begun a series of planned layoffs.
“I’m not seeing any relief in aerospace in the near future,” Thompson said. “It’s not just aerospace. I’m seeing weakness in almost every sector.”
Aerospace jobs remained flat in January because Boeing had yet to begun its layoffs. But other manufacturers cut 200 workers. Other major cutbacks came in retail trade, restaurants and hotels and government services.
Not adjusted for seasonal changes, the statewide, unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in January, Thompson said, adding, “The whole state is hurting. It’s not just us.”
Statewide, job losses were also in most industries, with large declines in manufacturing, construction, wholesalers of durable goods, computer system design, and hotels and restaurants.
At the unemployment office Tuesday, painter Steven Swarthout, 53, said he’s used to things being slower in winter. But he feared that things would continue to be tough in the spring and summer as few new homes are built and people try to paint on their own to save money.
Even experienced and skilled workers are having a hard time finding work, said Jared O’Loughlin, who lost his job as an auto mechanic in October. O’Loughlin, 26, of Everett has moved in with his parents. He said he has several years of experience as a mechanic, but may have to work for a fast-food place.
There aren’t simply many jobs, O’Loughlin said.
““It’s like a full-time job looking for a job when you are not working,” he said. “And it costs you money to look for a job.”
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