County jobless rate slips to 5.5%

Spokane County’s July jobless rate fell to 5.5 percent from June’s 5.6 percent, as private employers continued to add jobs, state economists reported Tuesday.

Statewide, the jobless rate increased from 5.5 percent in June to 5.7 percent in July. State economists said that increase doesn’t tell the larger story of a strong surge in overall jobs created.

Statewide payroll employment jumped by 12,800 workers in July, the largest monthly increase since August 2000.

Yet, because more workers started looking for jobs than the month before, the state’s unemployment rate increased during July, according to state Employment Security Department Commissioner Karen Lee.

The national rate remained at 5.0 percent in July. Both the national and state jobless rates are seasonally adjusted.

Spokane showed a net drop of 3,200 nonfarm jobs, according to state data. But those job losses came in the government category, which includes nearly all education jobs that shut down in the summer.

By contrast, private non-government workers in Spokane grew by roughly 1,000, the state data said.

The largest Spokane job gains came in construction, which added about 500 workers, and durable-goods manufacturing, which added 100 workers.

Professional and business services added 200 jobs, while transportation and warehouse employers added 100 jobs during July.

Spokane’s big job drops, by category, included 2,400 fewer jobs in the state government education group, and 1,800 fewer in local education. That group includes local school districts.

Statewide, that same seasonal job shrinkage meant a reduction of 26,500 government workers employed in July.

Five Spokane job categories showed no change from June: federal workers, food and beverage retail, general merchandise stores, information services and hospitals.