State, county jobless rates up

Both Washington and Spokane County ended 2004 with slight increases in the number of unemployed workers, but both also reported very strong job growth for the entire year.

Statewide, Washington’s unemployment rate in December was 5.8 percent, up from 5.6 percent in November, state employment officials said Tuesday.

Spokane’s unemployment rate went from 4.9 percent in November to 5.6 percent in December, according to estimates by officials with the state Employment Security Department.

In December the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, the same as the month before.

During December, Spokane County lost about 1,500 jobs from the previous month, according to Jeff Zahir, regional labor economist for Spokane and Eastern Washington.

Spokane’s business and professional service jobs declined by about 200 from November to December, he said. The state government work force also fell by about 200 workers in that one month, Zahir added. “Part of it is that the state (in November) hired many election workers to work on the hand recount, then stopped employing them in December,” he said.

Natural resources and construction jobs also fell in Spokane by 600 jobs, said Zahir. That drop would likely reflect the onset of winter weather, forcing many construction firms to lay off crews until the spring, he noted.

Washington had its strongest job growth in six years in 2004, state officials said. Employment Security Department Commissioner Sylvia Mundy reported the net job gain from December 2003 to December 2004 was more than 60,000 jobs.

Spokane’s preliminary job numbers also showed impressive yearlong growth. According to Zahir, “Spokane’s nonfarm employment continued to post increases over the year with 4,000 more workers employed this December than (in) December 2003.”