County unemployment down to 6% in April

Published 12:15 pm Monday, May 27, 2024

Pacific County saw its unemployment rate continue to drop last month, according to data released last week by Washington’s Employment Security Department.

The county unemployment rate fell from 7.3% in March to 6% in April, preliminary figures from the state agency shows. That mark is good for third-lowest for Pacific County in the month of April dating back to 1990, trailing only the 5.2% jobless rate last year and 5.9% in 2022.

Overall, the county unemployment rate ranked 34th out of Washington’s 39 counties and ahead of neighboring Grays Harbor (6.5%) and Wahkiakum (7.4%) counties. As usual, Ferry County in the northeast corner of the state had the highest unemployment rate at 9.4% — the only county with a jobless rate topping 7.5%.

The statewide unemployment rate sat at 4.4% for April, down from 5.1% in March and up from 3.5% a year ago. Thirteen counties had an unemployment rate at or below 4.5%, with Asotin County in southeast Washington having the lowest jobless rate in the state at 3.4%.

An estimated 6,130 people were employed in nonfarm jobs last month, down 0.6% from 6,170 workers in April 2023. Those figures exclude farm workers, private household employees, proprietors and people employed by non-profits.

The two biggest workforces in the county, government employees and leisure and hospitality workers, were roughly flat over last April. Jobs in education and health services were down 8.5%, from 590 to 540, while retail jobs fell from 720 to 690 — a decline of 4.2%. Local manufacturing jobs were up 3.1% from a year ago, increasing from 640 to 660, while mining, logging and construction jobs were flat at 450 workers.