Unemployment in Spokane County jumped to 10.5 percent in January from 9.1 percent in December, the Washington Employment Security Department said today.

The rate in January 2010 was 11.5 percent, said department labor economist Doug Tweedy, who noted unemployment typically peaks in January and February if not adjusted for expected seasonal variations.

About 100 government jobs were eliminated from January to January, but private employers added 800, he said.

The biggest gains were recorded in professional and technical services, where 600 jobs were added, and manufacturing and health care, which each added 100 jobs, Tweedy said.

Tweedy said job openings should begin to increase with the spring. But with increased competition for all positions, he said, now is the time for students to be looking for summer jobs. 

The unemployment rate in Spokane County slipped to 7.8 percent in October, the lowest rate in almost two years.

The number of employed rose to 220,210, up from 216,960 in September and 218,850 in October 2009.

But Doug Tweedy, local labor economist for the Washington Employment Security Department, cautioned that the seasonal and part-time jobs captured in the October numbers do not necessarily signal a turnaround in job numbers.

Spokane statistics are not adjusted for seasonal variations.

“We’re still well behind where we were in 2008,” he said, noting the county lost 8,000 jobs in 2009. For the first 10 months of 2010, unemployment in the county averaged 9.3 percent.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for all of Washington was 9.1 percent, unchanged from a revised figure for September. The national rate was 9.6 percent.

The unadjusted rate for Washington was 8.5 percent. Employers added 5,900 workers. 

Employment in Spokane County jumped by more than 3,300 in August, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent from 8.8 pecent in July, and August 2009.

The rate for Washington held steady at 8.9 percent seasonally adjusted, and 8.8 percent unadjusted.

The rate for the United States, also seasonally adjusted, was 9.6 percent.

Total payrolls statewide declined by 2,000 due to a 2,900 reduction in government employment, one-half of that Census workers. Private employer added 900 jobs.

In Spokane, 215,690 were employed, up from 212,340 in July. In August 2009, 215,240 had jobs.

Employment in Spokane County fell by 1,700 in May, but the unemployment rate also slipped because fewer people were job-hunting.

The Washington Employment Security Department said state employment increased by 8,600, but only because 9,000 workers were hired to help conduct the 2010 U.S. Census.

The state unemployment rate for May was 9.1 percent, matching the level of May 2009. The April rate was 9.3 percent. Those figures are adjusted to account for seasonal swings.

Unadjusted, the state rate was 8.8 percent, just below the 8.9 percent for Spokane, where the April rate was nine percent. In May 2009, the rate was 8.5 percent.