Peninsula Daily News and The Associated Press
Unemployment on the North Olympic Peninsula jolted upward by about a full percentage point in December, reflecting the nation’s recession woes.
Joblessness in Clallam County jumped to 8.9 percent in December from 7.9 percent the month before in statistics released Wednesday by the state Employment Security Department.
Jefferson County’s one-month increase fell just shy of a full percent — 7.2 percent in December compared with 6.3 percent in November.
The percentages translate to 2,750 in Clallam County receiving December unemployment benefits out of a total work force of 30,910.
In Jefferson County, 1,020 received unemployment compensation in a total work force of 14,230.
Statewide, the unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 percent last month from 6.4 percent in November, the largest one-month increase since 1976, Employment Security said.
The highest unemployment rate in record in Washington is 12.2 percent in November 1982.
From December 2007 to December 2008, unemployment in Clallam County leaped from 6.9 percent to 8.9 percent, the agency said.
Jefferson’s unemployment rate in December 2007 was 4.7 percent, 2.5 percent below last month’s rate.
Taking the biggest hit statewide last month was professional and business services, down 7,900 jobs, followed by administrative and support services, down 5,600.
Construction lost 4,200 jobs, manufacturing cut 3,500 jobs, and transportation, trade and utilities lost 3,300 jobs.
Industries with the most job growth included information, education and health services, each with 300 new jobs, and aerospace, which added 400.
The national unemployment rate last month was 7.2 percent.
“In barely a year, we’ve gone from historically low unemployment to record numbers of people applying for unemployment benefits,” Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said in a statement.
