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YOUR
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YOUR
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Published April 2002
Report
highlights
county labor trends
New state research finds area
highly dependent on manufacturing jobs
By
John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor
A new Washington state study of labor trends and statistics for Snohomish County turned up a few surprises and more details than any earlier research on the county’s share of jobs, skills and income.
Gary Weeks, Director of the state Employment Security Department’s Labor Market and Economic Analysis, presented a customized report to the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council in late February, a localized study he plans to update regularly for the group.
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About the Workforce Development Council: The Snohomish County Workforce Development Council was initiated by County Executive Bob Drewel in response to the passage of the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, which consolidated 70 different federal employment and training programs into a single work-force development system, including programs previously administered by private industry councils and the state Employment Security Department. The council’s 42 members, responsible for local work-force planning and training under WIA, include representatives of local business from all areas of the county and all sizes and types of businesses, as well as elected officials and those from labor, education, public and nonprofit agencies. Partners include:
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Until now, the county’s statistics on labor trends have been buried in a King-Snohomish-Island County regional report that has obscured Snohomish County’s own numbers.
“We’ve tried to do everything we could to get better and better local data, and this presentation is some of the fruits of that effort,” Weeks said.
His information included several surprises, including numbers showing how dependent Snohomish County is on manufacturing and how many jobs are concentrated in the highest- and lowest-paying work sectors. These excerpts from his comments cover a wide range of labor statistics for the county:
n Nearly half of the state’s work force works in King County (45.4 percent), but Snohomish County is in third place (7.9 percent) behind Pierce County (8.4 percent). Manufacturing is “unusually important for Snohomish County compared to others,” Weeks said.
n Manufacturing industries accounted for a quarter (25.7 percent) of all Snohomish County employment in 2000, with services at 20.4 percent; retail trade at 19.4 percent; government at 15.2 percent; construction, 7.3 percent; finance, insurance and real estate, 4.3 percent; wholesale trade, 3.5 percent; transportation and public utilities, 2.6 percent; agriculture, forestry and fishing, 1.4 percent; and mining, 0.2 percent.
n Nearly 60 percent of the state’s wages are earned in King County (59 percent), but Snohomish County ranks second (7.4 percent), ahead of Pierce County (6.5 percent).
n Not surprisingly, Boeing employment tracked closely with aircraft deliveries from 1965 to 1998. But in the late 1990s to the end of 2000, when severe Boeing layoffs sent work-force totals plummeting, the number of aircraft delivered stayed high. Weeks interpreted the changing trend to increased productivity by the remaining workers.
n Snohomish County’s unemployment rate, which reached 8 percent in January, is projected to continue high through 2002, declining to only about 6.5 percent by the end of the year, and into 2003. Weeks noted, however, that even in January, 92 percent of the people in the work force were employed and that the economy remained relatively strong because Boeing now has a smaller impact on the county’s economy than in the past.
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Local views “It’s going to be a tough couple of years, with Boeing building 100 planes less this year than last year and 100 planes next year than this year. Half of the 24,000 workers at Boeing live in the county.” — Bob Drewel, Snohomish County Executive “I don’t think a lot of the lost manufacturing jobs will be coming back. But if we can keep innovations, inventions and research here — such as biomedical devices, avionics and other high-tech industries — we’ll be able to make many of those new products in Snohomish County. We’re putting together some statistics (about the county) to make sure Boeing’s Sonic Cruiser (project) stays here, but I expect our competition for a site will be China, not other states. Our challenge is to develop employers and a work force that will lead to growth in high-wage occupations and industries.” — Deborah Knutson, President, Snohomish County Economic Development Council “It’s incredibly challenging for us to pull together work-force statistics that focus on Snohomish County (rather than numbers that also include King County statistics). These details (in the new state report) are a customized analysis of the labor market in our county.” — Larry Hanson, Chairman, Workforce Development Council |
n Population growth in Snohomish County doubled from just over 300,000 in 1979 to just over 600,000 in 2000.
n Unemployment rates for the county from 1990 to 2001 rose from just under 4 percent in 1990 to 7 percent in 1992, then dipped to around 3 percent in 1998 before rising to 8 percent in January 2002.
n Employment in Snohomish County was around 340,000 in January 2002, compared to 160,000 in 1979.
Weeks’ report also included a breakdown of the number of Snohomish County employers by industry, with services tallying 6,872 businesses, followed by retail trade (2,773); construction (2,720); finance, insurance and real estate (1,171); wholesale trade (1,005); manufacturing (869); agriculture, forestry and fishing (600); transportation and public utilities (444); government (231); and mining (9).
Average annual earnings for 10 job sectors in Snohomish County in 2000 included:
n Transportation equipment — 37,337 employees averaging $56,531 annually.
n Local government jobs — 24,118 employees averaging $34,299 annually.
n Health services — 12,353 employees averaging $30,167 annually.
n Special trade contractors — 9,171 employees averaging $31,541 annually.
n Instruments and related products — 4,675 employees averaging $56,798 annually.
n Business services — 7,348 employees averaging $23,481 annually.
n Automotive dealers and service stations — 4,811 employees averaging $32,677 annually.
n State government — 4,529 employees averaging $34,398 annually.
n Wholesale trade (durable goods) — 4,285 employees averaging $36,284 annually.
n Eating and drinking establishments — 13,765 employees averaging $11,132 (without tips) annually.
Occupations with the highest number of annual openings, projected through 2008 in Snohomish County, include:
n Cashiers — 310 openings a year with a median annual wage of $18,650.
n Waiters and waitresses — 386 openings a year with a median annual wage of $13,250.
n Office clerks — 231 openings a year with a median annual wage of $24,900.
n General managers and top executives — 203 openings a year with a median annual wage of $90,100.
n Food preparation workers — 183 openings a year with a median annual wage of $16,230.
n Managers and administrators — 178 openings a year with a median annual wage of $76,150.
n Carpenters — 174 openings a year with a median annual wage of $44,010.
n Teachers, secondary schools — 162 openings a year with a median annual wage of $41,440.
More information about labor trends in Snohomish County is available on the Internet at the state Employment Security Department’s Labor Market and Economic Analysis (LMEA) Web site, www.wa.gov/esd/lmea, or from the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council, www.snocowdc.org, or by e-mail to marla@snocowdc.org.
© The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA
