Health care, private industry pushing Spokane area unemployment rate lower

The Spokane area’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in August as some seasonal workers headed back to school and the health care industry continued to grow.

The Employment Security Department listed the unemployment rate for metropolitan statistical area of Spokane, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties at 6.5 percent, down from 6.8 percent in July. The total number of people employed for the two months was nearly identical – about 237,700 – which is an increase of about 7,500 jobs from August 2015.

Most job growth came in private businesses, said Doug Tweedy, regional labor economist for the department. In addition the health care industry, which is Spokane’s largest employer, added about 200 jobs for the month and 1,700 jobs in the last year, he said. Seasonal jobs in recreation and maintenance that tend to be held by young adults dropped, but that happens most years as those workers drop out of the labor market to return to high school or college, Tweedy said.