Published June 2003

Jobless rate down slightly, but fewer people employed

SCBJ Staff

Unemployment dropped slightly in Snohomish County and the state as a whole in April, with employment gains in some sectors and losses in others.

Both the county and the state had an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent in April, down a tenth of a percentage point from March’s 7.4 percent figure, the state Department of Employment Security reported.

While the county’s rate went down, the number of people actually working dropped by 300, indicating that a number of jobless have moved out of the county, stopped looking for work or otherwise dropped off the unemployment rolls.

Construction added 300 jobs in the county; the hospitality and leisure industry added 300 jobs; bars and restaurants added 200 jobs; and retail trade and real estate each added 100 jobs.

But Boeing-related jobs dropped by 200 as a result of continuing layoffs, and the professional and business services sector dropped by 500 jobs.

The shifts in employment meant that the county, which has an estimated labor force of 340,400 people, had 315,700 people working in April and 24,700 people on unemployment.

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