EVERETT — Snohomish County’s jobless rate stayed at 10.5 percent in February, the same as the previous month, the state Employment Security Department said today.
The county kept the same rate despite the loss of 600 jobs in aerospace. Most other sectors stayed relatively stagnant.
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point from 9.3 percent in January to 9.5 percent last month. The national jobless rate for February was 9.7 percent.
In January, the numbers of jobs in the state rose for the first time in months. But the didn’t continue in February, when the state lost 8,300 jobs.
“We took a couple steps forward in January and one step backing in February,” said Karen Lee, the unemployment commissioner. “The path into the recession was steep but, as we’re seeing, the climb back will be more gradual.”
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