EVERETT — Snohomish County’s unadjusted unemployment rate ticked up slightly in August due to fewer government jobs, according to data released last week by the state Employment Security Department.
Last month’s unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher than July. Despite the increase, last month’s rate was better than a year ago, when county unemployment was 6 percent.
The numbers are not seasonally adjusted.
Total non-farm employment in the county was 271,500 in August, according to the state.
Overall, private sector jobs held steady from July to August at 236,100. But government jobs dropped by 1,500 during that time.
Most of those public sector jobs were classified as “local education services.”
The drop is “seasonally consistent with the academic calendar,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist with the Employment Security Department. “Over the year, government employment is at the same level observed in August 2013.”
While private sector jobs remained steady overall, some industries gained jobs while others lost. And some treaded water.
Manufacturing employment continued to fall, to 62,000 in August, a 3.4 drop from the same period last year. The sector led the county’s recovery after the Great Recession in 2008. But that workforce peaked in 2012 and has been declining since.
Mining, logging and construction companies added 400 jobs in August and have grown by 7.4 percent since last year.
“Workers and employers in construction suffered losses above and beyond most,” Vance-Sherman said. “Based on annual average employment levels, construction declined an estimated 43 percent from peak levels in 2007. Recovery has been slow and employment in this industry is highly seasonal.”
Snohomish County unemployment was better than that of the state as a whole, which was 5.4 percent in July and 5.7 percent in August.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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