A seasonal spike in unemployment, combined with the sagging construction and manufacturing industries, drove Clallam County’s jobless rate up to 10.1 percent last month, a regional economist said.
Jefferson County’s jobless rate rose from 8.1 to 8.8 percent last month. Another 90 workers, compared to November, said they were out of work as the number of unemployed in the county reached 1,160.
Clallam County’s unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percent in December, from 9.5 percent in November, according to preliminary data released by the state Employment Security Department on Wednesday.
Another 160 workers, compared to November, said they were not working, as the number of unemployed in Clallam County reached 3,020, the state said.
Statewide trend
Jim Vleming, regional economist for the state Employment Security Department, said the North Olympic Peninsula followed a statewide trend of a seasonal job drops.
“Basically it’s pretty much a situation we see during the winter months,” Vleming said.
“We don’t see as much activity. It’s really not a big surprise. Some years are bigger that others.”
Statewide, the unemployment rate rose from 8.9 to 9.5 percent last month, the state’s highest rate since 1984, state officials said.
The numbers show 20,870 more people were out of work in December from November in a labor force of 3.5 million statewide. There were 334,270 unemployed in December.
The national unemployment rate remained at 10 percent.
Vleming said the jobless rate will likely decrease in the spring.
“People kind of hunker down [in the winter],” he said.
As the weather improves, and the days get longer, businesses begin to hire more workers.
“It’s a seasonal situation,” he said.
“We’re also dealing with a crummy economy now. There are less jobs in construction and manufacturing.”
A year ago
A year ago, the unemployment rate was 8.6 percent in Clallam County and 7 percent in Jefferson County.
Vleming said budget cuts being considered by the state Legislature also will factor into Washington state’s unemployment rate.
For now, the number of jobless people in Clallam County receiving unemployment insurance increased to 1,798 in December, or 283 more than November.
The number of jobless people in Jefferson County receiving unemployment insurance rose to 557 in last month, which was 39 more than November.
“There’s no reason to be alarmed,” Vleming said of the seasonal spike in unemployment. “It’s pretty much a normal wintertime situation.”
Dave Wallace, chief economist with the state Employment Security Department, said that despite the month-to-month rise in unemployment, there was some good news: the 23,700 jobs lost in the last six months of 2009 were notably less than the 80,000 job losses in the first six months of the year.
“Employment is a lagging economic indicator, so coming out of a recession, it is typical for jobs to be the last thing to return,” he said. “But overall, job losses are clearly trending downward, and that’s a positive sign.”
November’s statewide unemployment rate, originally reported at 9.2 percent, was later revised down to 9 percent. Wallace said the state unemployment rate hit 9.6 percent in February 1984. The highest rate since the mid-1970s was in November 1982, when it hit 12.2 percent.
Clark County in southwest Washington had the highest unemployment rate last month at 14.3 percent.
Whitman County in eastern Washington had the lowest rate at 4.6 percent.
The largest county, King, was 8.5 percent.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
