Local Unemployment Low, But Job Quality Is Questionable

With holiday shopping in full swing, employment and income figures offer some clues about how much money consumers in Spokane may have to spend on Christmas.

In October, the last month for which figures are available, joblessness in Spokane reached a new low of 3.8 percent.

“That’s the lowest unemployment rate for any month in my records going back to 1975,” says Spokane labor market expert Fred Walsh.

Trouble is, wages are very low, too.

“We still have no statistical measure of how many of these jobs are part time,” observes Walsh, regional labor economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department. “It’s all anecdotal, but here in Spokane we know from talking to people that the number of workers holding down multiple jobs just keeps growing. In some cases these are not just duplicate jobholders, but triplicate jobholders.”

Despite all of the job growth in recent years, Spokane has continued to fall further behind Seattle in terms of wages paid, according to the latest figures for employment covered by the State Employment Security Department.

Since 1990, the average annual wage in Spokane County has climbed from $19,598 to $24,535 last year - a gain of $4,937.

In Seattle’s King County, the average wage in 1990 was $26,111 - $6,513 higher than in Spokane. During the past six years, the wage gap between Spokane and King County has widened to $8,258. The average Seattle-area wage climbed to $34,369.

At that level, the average Seattle worker now makes fully one-third more than the average worker in Spokane, up from onefourth in 1990.

What accounts for this?

Job growth in Spokane has come largely from population growth, not from new industries providing major new payrolls and benefits as in Seattle, Walsh said. “Basically, what you have is a lot more people in Spokane needing goods and services provided to them by people in jobs which really don’t pay all that well.”

For the record, the best-paying jobs in Spokane covered by the State Employment Security Department are in mining, where the average annual wage topped $88,000. Most receiving that figure are administrators and scientists and engineers. Recent merger and acquisition activities have generated extraordinarily large buyout packages and paychecks.

In North Idaho’s Shoshone County, worka-day miners earn an annual average of $35,643. That edges out the average Seattlite. But the average worker in the Silver Valley only makes $19,894.

Next to being an upper echelon mining administrator, the highest-paying occupation in Spokane is selling securities. The average stock broker last year hauled in $66,434.

Retail workers averaged just $15,248.

Real estate employees fared little better - $15,777.

The average hotel/motel employees earned only $12,462.

Household servants averaged just $8,291.

Federal government jobs are among the best-paying in Spokane. The average employee on Uncle Sam’s payroll makes $36,505.

Quality employees scarce

Even as downsizing and the trend toward temporary and part time work continue apace, businesses profess that their biggest headache is hiring good workers.

“Finding and retaining quality employees tops the worry list of almost everyone interviewed,” reports Marple’s Business Newsletter, “and this is as true in Idaho and Montana, both with modest growth now, as in rapidly growing Washington and Oregon.

“Some executives tell us they have simply turned customers away for lack of enough good people to get the work done,” says the Seattle-based biweekly.

EDC ahead of recruitment goals

The latest figures released by the Spokane Area Economic Development Council indicate that the region’s primary payroll recruiting agency is exceeding goals both for generating new jobs and elevating pay.

This year’s target was 650 new jobs paying an average annual wage of $28,000 plus.

In his first day on the job Tuesday, Mark Turner, the agency’s new president, reported that the figures so far this year add up as follows: New companies - six.

New jobs - 675.

New payroll - $21 million.

Average annual pay - $31,111.

These numbers are markedly better than anticipated based on the agency’s past performance. Over the past 10 years, the agency is credited with recruiting 80 companies that employ 5,360 workers and have a combined total payroll of $135 million. The average annual wage of jobs created during that period is calculated at $25,159.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes a notes column each Wednesday. If you have business items of regional interest for future columns, call 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review