Spokane County’s September unemployment rate drops to 4.6 percent

Tue., Oct. 24, 2017

By Becky Kramer beckyk@spokesman.com (509) 459-5466

Early holiday hiring by local retailers helped lower Spokane County’s unemployment rate to 4.6 percent in September.

The county’s September jobless rate hasn’t been that low since September 1998, when it dropped to 4.2 percent, said Doug Tweedy, a regional economist for the Washington Employment Security Division.

Spokane County posted a 4.9 percent jobless rate in August, and a 5.8 percent rate in September 2016.

Tweedy said September’s job gains reflect hiring by retailers in advance of the holiday shopping season. Employers also are gearing up for online Christmas shopping, but those job gains show up as hires in the warehouse and transportation industry.

The beginning of the school year led to hiring at educational institutions last month. The return of college students to Spokane County also led to hiring at local restaurants that cater to them, Tweedy said.

Overall, job growth remains strong for the region. The Spokane metro area of Spokane, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties remains on track to add 6,000 to 7,000 jobs this year, he said.

For other counties in the region, September unemployment rates were: Stevens, 5.7 percent; Pend Oreille, 5.8 percent; Ferry, 8.9 percent; Lincoln, 3.8 percent; Adams, 3.7 percent; and Whitman, 4 percent.

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