Spokane jobless rate 3% in June

Spokane County’s unemployment rate for June rose to 3.0%, just higher than the 2.9% reported in May by the Washington Employment Security Department. The difference represents just more than 100 jobseekers.

According to the ESD report released on Wednesday, Spokane County had 7,853 residents out of work in June and a total labor force of 265,850.

For seasonally adjusted numbers, Washington added more than 13,000 jobs in June. Of those, 11,900 were nonfarm roles. Since the start of the year, Washington has added more than 118,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the state.

In June, statewide unemployment decreased to 3.8% – the lowest monthly rate reported by the ESD so far this year.

This figure is higher than the national rate of 3.6% for June, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Uber settles bicyclist’s lawsuit

Uber averted a rare trial over a bicyclist’s claims that he was “doored” by a driver’s vehicle, settling the case just before opening statements were set to start in a San Francisco court.

The settlement follows Uber’s usual practice of resolving such claims out of court.

The bicyclist’s lawsuit would likely have been the first such case to go to trial in California and threatened to expose details about the company’s training practices.

Jurors in the San Francisco court waited for more than 1 ½ hours before being told by state court Judge Jeffrey S. Ross that what was supposed to be a month-long trial would not move forward. Details of the settlement weren’t announced.

Edgard Velarde, 64, had earlier refused to settle out of court for injuries he alleges he sustained after being hit by the door of passenger exiting an Uber vehicle, turning down a $1 million offer from Uber in exchange for keeping quiet about the incident.

Velarde had been seeking “many millions” in damages and had promised to expose lies he says the ride-share company told him and details of the lack of training it provides to its drivers.

Besides Velarde’s resistance to Uber’s demand that he remain quiet about the accident, Stephenson said he also believed the company owed him more than $1 million.

In pretrial testimony, Velarde said he had drained his savings, lost his job and future income, and ability to support his family.

Robert Taits, a lawyer at Uber, declined to comment on the settlement. In court filings, the company had argued that “Uber does not belong in this case.”

From staff and wire reports