EVERETT — The jobless rate in Snohomish County dropped slightly in September, according to an Employment Security Department report released Tuesday.
The county’s unemployment rate fell to 9 percent last month from 9.1 percent in August. Construction, transportation and hospitality were amon
g the industries that shed positions in September. Manufacturing, education and government were the sectors that added jobs last month.
Snohomish County had 34,390 people who were unemployed last month. Roughly 3,700 people filed initial unemployment claims in September.
Compared to September 2010, the county’s unemployment rate has dropped 1.1 percent. The county has added 5,900 jobs in the past year.
Manufacturing made up a large portion of the new jobs created over the past year, with 5,400 positions being added since September 2010.
“New manufacturing jobs were almost entirely attributable to recent hiring in Snohomish County’s aerospace products and parts manufacturing industries, led by Boeing,” wrote Anneliese Vance-Sherman, regional economist for the state’s Employment Security Department, in her monthly employment report.
The county’s service-providing industry is its second-largest job creator over the past year, adding 1,800 positions mostly in retail trade, Vance-Sherman wrote. Education and health services also added 1,800 jobs since September 2010.
However, while those industries were adding jobs, other sectors, including construction, lost positions.
“All together, employment in the public sector took a hit on the order of 1,300 jobs between September 2010 and September 2011,” Vance-Sherman noted.
Snohomish County’s jobless rate remains higher than that of the state, which was 8.5 percent in September. The nation’s jobless rate was at 9.1 percent in September.
Vance-Sherman noted that the county’s employment was at its highest in 2008, heading into the recession. Snohomish County’s jobless rate hit its peak in early 2010.
“Employment since early 2010 has been growing slowly and steadily, albeit at a slower than desirable rate,” she wrote.
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