Unemployment was down slightly on the North Olympic Peninsula in December, state officials said.
Clallam County’s unemployment rate dipped from a revised 6.5 percent in November to a preliminary 6.3 percent in December, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday.
Jefferson County unemployment went from a revised 5.8 percent in November to a preliminary 5.3 percent in last month, according to the report.
Both counties had minor gains in the number of people working and slight decreases in the number of unemployed.
There were 27,213 Clallam County residents who were working in December, up from 27,101 in November, and 12,816 seeking work.
Jefferson County had 12,326 working in December — up from 12,129 in November — and 685 unemployed, the agency said.
A person is counted as unemployed if he or she is able to work and had sought work in the past month.
Meanwhile, the statewide unemployment rate dipped from 4.4 percent in November to an all-time low of 4.3 percent last month, Employment Security said.
“Washington’s labor market finished the year with a flourish,” said Paul Turek, economist for the department.
“The state unemployment rate fell to its lowest level ever based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics historical records dating to 1976.”
The state added 10,900 non-farm jobs in December and 77,800 for the year, Employment Security said.
The state’s labor force grew by 133,800 from December 2018 through December 2019.
A labor force is the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16.
King County had the state’s lowest unemployment last month at 2.1 percent, followed by Snohomish (2.4 percent) and San Juan (3.7 percent) counties, Employment Security said.
Ferry County had the state’s highest unemployment rate in December at 10.6 percent, followed by Grant (8.9 percent) and Pend Oreille (8.5 percent) counties.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.