Spokane’s June unemployment rate up slightly, but jobs higher compared to 2015

Spokane’s unemployment rate inched upward as the summer started, but increases in many job categories provide a positive outlook, a local economist said.

The Spokane County unemployment rate for June rose to 6.4 percent from 5.9 percent in May, the Washington Employment Security Department reported Tuesday. But Doug Tweedy, the department’s local labor market analyst, said that increase happens most years because the area has a high number of employees in the public and private school systems.

“Education is a big part of the economy, with about 28,000 jobs,” Tweedy said. “Some of the staff will be laid off for the summer.”

Some of those workers will take seasonal jobs, which will show up in a wide range of industrial and business categories next month, he said.

A more important figure, Tweedy said, is the job growth over last year. County businesses added more than 6,700 jobs since June 2015 in a variety of sectors. Construction is up over the past year, although the number of jobs in that category is below the peak in 2008.

“Now we’re at a more sustainable level,” Tweedy said.

As the number of people shopping online continues to grow, the Spokane area is seeing an increase in transportation and warehousing jobs but a decrease in employment at retail stores. Health services – a category that includes clinics, doctor’s offices, hospitals and medical labs – has added 2,100 jobs over the past year. That’s expected to continue as the baby boom generation ages, he said.

“I think this is still a good report, even with the slight rise in unemployment,” Tweedy said. “There’s not a lot of minuses.”