Snohomish County continued to add jobs at a strong rate in February, but its unemployment numbers went up, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday.
During February, the county created an additional 900 jobs, mostly in construction and aerospace. But that didn’t stop it from adding 1,000 people to the jobless rolls, bringing the county’s unemployment rate to 4.9 percent, two-tenths of a percentage point higher than in January.
Donna Thompson, Snohomish County economist for the Employment Security Department, said the apparent contradiction of more jobs and higher unemployment is common during an economic upturn.
“This indicates that even though there are more jobs, more people are entering the labor force,” she said. “It’s very typical during an economic expansion to see the total number of unemployed rise. This could be due to discouraged workers who have begun to search for work or people who have moved into the county to look for work.”
Discouraged workers typically fall off the jobless rolls because they are not receiving unemployment pay and have quit looking for work.
Thompson said the 900 jobs brought the county’s nonfarm employment total to 233,700, with a growth rate for the economy of 5.8 percent. That compares with the state’s growth rate of 3.5 percent. Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. The entire state added 10,100 jobs last month.
That means Snohomish County created almost 9 percent of the state’s job growth.
Thompson said construction added 700 jobs, aerospace added 200, other manufacturing added 100 and government added 400.
Work in the trade, transportation and utilities sector dropped by 500 jobs, mostly at retail stores and car dealerships. Hotels and restaurants cut 300 jobs, and temporary agencies also dropped 300 positions.
“This sector tends to be very volatile due to project employment,” Thompson said of temporary work. “Although with more businesses adding permanent employees, there may be less need for temporary help.”
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