PORT ANGELES — Private-sector job losses exceeded public-sector gains last month as North Olympic Peninsula unemployment hovered around 7 percent in September, according to state estimates released Tuesday.
Clallam County added 120 government jobs but shed 80 in the private sector as the county unemployment rate went from a revised 6.9 percent in August to a preliminary 7.0 percent in September, the state Employment Security Department reported.
Jefferson County gained 30 public-sector positions but lost 100 in the private sector as unemployment went from 6.4 percent in August to 6.6 percent in September, state officials said.
Leisure and hospitality work accounted for the bulk of the job losses in both counties, with Clallam and Jefferson counties each shedding 80 such positions.
Clallam County gained 60 jobs in education and health services, and Jefferson County added 10 manufacturing jobs, Employment Security said.
Unemployment estimates do not factor in those who have stopped looking for a job or commute to other counties for work.
The size of the North Olympic Peninsula labor pool shrank slightly in September, from 26,730 to 26,600 in Clallam County and from 11,280 to 11,130 in Jefferson County.
Jobless rates were more than 1 percent higher in both counties in September 2013, at 8.1 percent in Clallam County and 8.0 percent in Jefferson County.
State officials said San Juan County had last month’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.7 percent, and Grays Harbor County had the highest at 8.8 percent.
The unemployment rate in the Seattle metro area remained at 4.8 percent in September.
Statewide unemployment went from 5.6 percent to 5.7 percent last month, while the national jobless rate went from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent, according to Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
