Published March 2002

Jobless rate jumps
to 8 percent

By Mike Benbow
Herald Business Editor

Snohomish County's jobless rate soared to 8 percent in January, its highest level for a January during the past nine years, the state Department of Employment Security reported.

The 8 percent figure was a significant increase from December, when the revised unemployment estimate was 6.7 percent. And it was nearly double the unemployment rate of a year ago, which was 4.5 percent.

January's percentage boils down to the fact that an estimated 4,600 Snohomish County workers lost their jobs in that month. It's no surprise that a large number of them — an estimated 600 — worked for the Boeing Co. or another aircraft-related firm.

Boeing has continued its drive to cut 30,000 jobs worldwide by this summer, including 20,000 in the Puget Sound area.

In addition to aircraft jobs, there were big cutbacks in other areas, including a loss of 1,200 jobs in retail and 400 in construction, reported Donna Thompson, employment security's labor economist for Snohomish County.

Jobs in insurance and real estate held steady, showing the continued strength of home sales and refinancing, Thompson added.

While the county's jobless rate rose dramatically, it was still below the statewide average of 8.2 percent. Much of the state's increasing joblessness can be attributed to seasonal conditions, such as the loss of construction jobs due to wet weather, said Employment Security Commissioner Sylvia P. Mundy.

But Boeing layoffs have delayed the signs of recovery popping up in other areas of the country, she said.

"In part because of aerospace layoffs, the state's rate remained relatively high as the national rate went down," Mundy said.

Gary Kamimura, the department's senior economist, noted that Washington has lost 31,900 jobs in manufacturing during the past year, with 5,000 of those tied to aircraft and parts. "Major job losses were also seen in electronics, food processing, industrial machinery and computer equipment, primary metals, and lumber and wood products — all of which were down 2,000 or more over the year."

The cutbacks around the state had much less impact on King County, which reported a 6.9 percent jobless rate in January, and on Island County, where January unemployment was 6.4 percent.

The Island County numbers mean that of an estimated work force of 28,610, some 1,820 people can't find a job. In Snohomish County, where there's a labor force of 339,400, some 27,200 people are looking for work.

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