Unemployment fell by more than 1 percentage point on the North Olympic Peninsula last month despite no net change in the number of Clallam and Jefferson County jobs, state officials said.
Clallam County added 50 jobs in May as unemployment dipped from a revised 7.4 percent in April to a preliminary 6.2 percent in May, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday.
Jefferson County shed 50 jobs in May while its jobless rate fell from a revised 7.4 percent in April to a preliminary 6.1 percent in May, Employment Security said in a monthly jobs report.
“I think things are looking pretty rosy if we look at the nonfarm numbers,” said Jim Vleming, Employment Security regional economist, in a Wednesday interview.
“We’re definitely headed in the right direction, and I think with summer going on, that’s going to do nothing but help the economy overall.”
Unemployment rates are the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed and actively looking for work. The rates can be skewed by changes in the size of a labor force and do not account for residents who commute to other counties.
“There wasn’t much movement over the month in Clallam or Jefferson (counties),” said Vleming, whose territory also includes Grays Harbor, Mason, Pacific, Lewis, Thurston and Pierce counties.
“Nonfarm was only up 50 (jobs) in Clallam, and most of that was government. But over the year, we’re up 1,640, with a lot of that government, construction, manufacturing, professional business services and trade. So a pretty good mix of growth.”
Clallam County’s jobless rate was 15.1 percent in May 2020. Jefferson County had 14.6 percent unemployment in May 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions were in full effect.
“Last May, we had 4,400 Clallam County residents looking for work, and this year we’ve got only 1,700,” Vleming said.
“So that’s a pretty good turnaround.”
Jefferson County had 1,900 residents looking for work in May 2020 compared with 700 last month, Vleming said.
Jefferson County employers added 280 jobs between May 2020 and last month, including 110 in education and health services and 90 in trade, transportation and utilities, Employment Security said.
“There was not much going on over the month (in Jefferson County), but once again, over the year, it’s positive,” Vleming said.
Vleming predicted a “pretty decent summer” for the tourism industry on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“I think there’s a lot of pent-up demand,” Vleming said.
“I think people during the pandemic have proven pretty well they know where the ocean and mountains are.”
The state unemployment rate dipped slightly from 5.4 to 5.3 percent last month as the state added 8,300 jobs in May.
Private sector employment increased by 7,000 jobs and government employment increased by 1,300 jobs over the month, officials announced in a June 16 report.
The state had gained 248,900 jobs from May 2020 to May 2021, Employment Security said.
The national unemployment rate decreased from 6.1 percent in April to 5.8 percent in May.
“The demand for labor is strong, and more job seekers are coming back into the labor force,” Paul Turek, an Employment Security economist, said in a prepared statement.
“The employment gain in May is another step towards recovering the jobs lost in 2020.”
Asotin County had the lowest unemployment in the state last month at 3.8 percent, followed by Walla Walla (4.2 percent) and Whitman (4.2 percent) counties, Employment Security said.
Pacific County had the highest unemployment at 7.7 percent, followed by Grays Harbor (7.6 percent) and Ferry (7.3 percent) counties.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@ peninsuladailynews.com.