County unemployment back below 6% in May

Published 12:36 pm Monday, July 1, 2024

The local unemployment rate dipped below 6% in May for the first time since last September, according to data released last week by the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD).

Preliminary monthly figures from the state agency pegged Pacific County’s jobless rate at 5.9% in May, a slight decrease from April’s 6% and up from 4.9% the year prior — but still the second-best May on record for the county dating back to 1990, which is as far back as ESD’s county-level data goes.

Overall, the county unemployment rate ranked 34th out of Washington’s 39 counties and ahead of neighboring Grays Harbor (6.3%) and Wahkiakum (6.9%) counties. As usual, Ferry County in the northeast corner of the state had the highest unemployment rate at 7.7% and was the only county with a jobless rate above 7%.

The statewide unemployment rate sat at 4.6% for May, up from 4.4% in April and up from 3.6% a year ago. Fourteen counties had an unemployment rate at or below 4.5%, with Asotin County in southeast Washington having the lowest rate in the state at 3.3%.

An estimated 6,210 people in Pacific County were employed in nonfarm jobs in May, up 1.5% from April and up 0.5% from a year ago. The figures exclude farm workers, private household employees, proprietors and those employed by nonprofits.

The biggest private industry in the county, leisure and hospitality, saw its workforce increase 5.1% from 980 in April to 1,030 in May as the tourist season continued heating up, and was also better than May 2023’s 1,010 workers. The county’s large public sector workforce was up marginally over both the previous month and year.

Manufacturing jobs in Pacific County were up 6.7% in May over the previous year, while retail jobs were down 4.1% and education and health services jobs decreased by 8.5% after the industry hit a recent high point in 2023.