The jobless rate fell so low in Snohomish County in August that it plunged well past the point that economists consider to be full employment.
“We’ve had tons of businesses coming here looking for workers,” said Donna Thompson, a labor economist who studies the county for the state Employment Security Department.
Unemployment fell three-tenths of a percentage point in August, from 4 percent in July to 3.7 percent. Typically a 4 percent jobless rate is considered full employment when you factor out people who are not looking for work or who are unemployable.
Thompson said many of the job opportunities can be discouraging for some seekers because the majority of openings pay poorly.
“There are jobs out there,” she said. “Many of them are fairly low-paying jobs, but there are still jobs for people looking for one.”
The unemployment rate for the entire state also dropped three-tenths of a percent in August, to 4.6 percent from 4.9 percent in July.
“I am running out of ways to say, ‘The news is good,’ ” Gov. Chris Gregoire said.
In Snohomish County, the numbers at first look a little confusing.
The county actually lost 100 net jobs in August and still had the strong drop in unemployment.
Thompson said jobs ended in August for 1,700 school employees because of the summer break. The county created many new jobs to make up most of that loss. And it also experienced a drop in people seeking unemployment checks. There were 14,950 on the local unemployment rolls in July and only 13,600 in August.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” she said. “It’s just the timing of this stuff. This is a seasonal thing. We’ll see an increase in jobs next month (when school workers are back on the books). We are looking very good.”
Thompson noted that the county added 800 manufacturing jobs last month, including 400 at the Boeing Co. and other aerospace firms.
“It should come as no surprise that this sector was still seeing gains as Boeing continued its aggressive hiring campaign for assembly of the 787 Dreamliner,” Thompson said, adding Boeing has received 710 orders so far for the new jet.
The health services sector added 400 jobs in August. So far this year, the county had added 10,000 jobs, including 4,700 in aerospace and 2,200 in health services. Losing jobs this year were the financial activities sector, down 700, and professional services, which dropped 300 so far this year.
Herald writer Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459or benbow@heraldnet.com.
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