Published August 2003

Jobless rate surges to 8%
in county, 7.7% in state

By Mike Benbow
Herald Business Editor

Unemployment in Snohomish County soared to 8 percent in June, as some 2,400 people joined the jobless rolls.

The county’s jobless rate rose by seven-tenths of a percentage point for the month as jobs declined in a variety of industries. Statewide, unemployment rose three-tenths of a percentage point, from 7.4 percent in May to 7.7 percent in June, according to the state Department of Employment Security.

The statewide increase conflicts with other signs that the economy is strengthening, Employment Security Commissioner Sylvia Mundy said.

“While some sectors are showing signs of recovery, businesses overall are not yet convinced that demand will be sufficient to justify hiring,” Mundy said.

Locally, no single answer existed for the sharp increase in those looking for work.

The Boeing Co. and other aerospace manufacturers laid off 300 people in June. So did companies providing professional, scientific and technical services. Smaller cutbacks were made in such areas as temporary help, auto sales, transportation equipment and some areas of construction.

Donna Thompson, the department’s labor economist for Snohomish County, noted that while the number of people seeking jobs rose 2,400 to 27,500, the number of people working declined only by 2,000.

She noted that June’s unemployment numbers could include a number of people who had previously given up finding work.

“It can include formerly discouraged workers who are now actively seeking work,” she said. “It may also include previously laid-off workers who went back to school or took training programs and have now completed them.”

For the state as a whole, the 7.7 percent rate was the highest since April 2002. The highest rate in the region was in neighboring Oregon, which posted an 8.5 percent jobless rate. Nationally, the jobless rate was 6.4 percent.

Kirsta Glenn, the department’s chief economist, said construction is strong, as is typical for this time of year, but retail sales and business services aren’t picking up as they usually do.

The bleakest part of the state’s employment picture remains manufacturing, where Boeing and other aerospace companies that once fueled the Puget Sound region’s economy continue to struggle.

In Snohomish County alone, Boeing and related companies have trimmed 4,000 jobs during the past year, about 15 percent of the sector’s work force. Each month brings more layoffs.

“Manufacturing remains weak, and that’s going to be a general drag on the other numbers,” Glenn said.

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