As is often true even in non-pandemic times, southwest and northeast Washington experienced the state’s highest rates of unemployment in the latest reporting period.

OLYMPIA — Good news has been sparse as of late, but Pacific County received some last week with the release of the latest employment update.

The county’s unemployment rate dropped for a third consecutive month in October to 8.1%, according to a monthly update from the Washington State Employment Security Department. The rate is down from 10.7% in September, and a pandemic high of 17.1% in May.

Pull Quote

‘I think it’s going to be a slow and bumpy winter, would be my guess … especially with further lockdowns and further restrictions around the corner, it doesn’t bode very well.’

Jim Vleming, regional economist

Along with neighboring Grays Harbor, however, Pacific County continues to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, with the statewide unemployment rate dropping to 6%. Total non-farm employment in the county was also down an estimated 100 jobs from September, with only the leisure and hospitality industry gaining jobs month-over-month, from 860 to 900 jobs — but still markedly down from a projected 1,020 jobs last October.

Employment in October was down in every single non-farm industry in the county compared to a year ago, with manufacturing — down 20% — and leisure and hospitality — down 12% — the hardest-hit industries. Governmental jobs, the largest industry in the county, are down 7% as well, and down 13% from three years ago.

Jim Vleming, regional economist for ESD, said he doesn’t expect the winter months to provide much in the way of good news on the jobs front for Pacific County.

“We hardly ever add employment during the winter months, so I don’t see a lot of growth in any of these sectors,” said Vleming. “I think it’s going to be a slow and bumpy winter, would be my guess … especially with further lockdowns and further restrictions around the corner, it doesn’t bode very well.”

While there has been good news on the vaccine front, with Pfizer’s vaccine possibly becoming available as soon as the end of next week and Moderna’s later in the month, Vleming said it’s going to take time to get everybody “up to speed.” A vaccine is not expected to become widely available to the public until next spring, at the earliest.

State accepting applications for small business grantsAs part of the state’s efforts to help workers and small businesses affected by recently renewed restrictions, the Washington State Department of Commerce began the application process for its third round of Working Washington Small Business Grants on Dec. 1.

The state plans to award $50 million by the end of the year, with businesses applying to receive up to $20,000 in emergency funding. The grants are prioritized for small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million or less in 2019 and businesses in sectors most affected by recent public health measures — including full-service restaurants and businesses in rural areas, according to Washington Commerce Director Lisa Brown.

The state also plans to disburse $30 million in business loans, $20 million in rental assistance and $15 million in utilities assistance, in light of recent health measures and the federal government’s inability to provide additional covid-related relief.

“We can’t say it’s going to help every single business in Washington, but we can say we’re not done with this and we’re happy we made real progress,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said at a November press conference announcing the state aid.

Inslee implored Congress and the Trump administration to strike a deal at that press conference, and mentioned that existing federal aid is set to expire at the end of 2020. Inslee sent a letter to Washington’s congressional delegation encouraging them to strike a deal, and called on the president and the Senate to “take their constitutional duties seriously.”

To apply for the grant, visit startup.choosewashingtonstate.com/working-washington-round-3/ to fill out the application.