Unemployment in Snohomish County remained flat at 5.2 percent in October, but there was some good news as many sectors added jobs.
Employment in the county increased by 3,600, bringing the total to 332,500, Donna Thompson, a labor economist for the state Employment Security Department, said Tuesday.
Local education added 1,400 jobs, state education added 700, construction added 500, retail shops added 300, and even the aerospace industry was hiring, with 300 workers hired in the county during October.
Thompson noted that unemployment also increased, by about 300 people, leaving the number of jobless in the county at 18,400.
“Part of the increase in unemployment is due to discouraged workers re-entering the work force and looking for work,” Thompson said.
She said the local market was very similar to the statewide job scene. The state unemployment rate was also 5.2 percent in October. When seasonally adjusted, it rose to 5.6 percent.
“Both employment and unemployment increased over the month,” said Employment Security Commissioner Sylvia Mundy. “However, because changes were less than normal for this time of year, seasonally adjusted employment and unemployment were both down.
“Washington’s unemployment rate is now only one-tenth of a percentage point above the national rate of 5.5 percent.”
When seasonally adjusted, the estimated number of unemployed people dropped from 179,000 to 178,200 – the lowest number of people seeking work since February 2001, Mundy said
Seasonally adjusted, the state added about 10,000 jobs – enough to excite some economists.
“That was the highest jobs gain for Washington since July, when 13,500 positions were created by statewide employers,” state economist Roberta Pauer told the Associated Press. “These October jobs figures put the state well on track to recoup by year’s end the last of the jobs lost during the state’s recent recession.”
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