PORT ANGELES — Clallam County unemployment rose from 5.6 percent to 5.9 percent in November while Jefferson County’s jobless rate held steady at 5.4 percent, state officials said.
Clallam County had 26,940 working citizens and 1,697 job seekers in November, according to preliminary estimates from the state Employment Security Department.
Jefferson County had 11,688 working residents and 671 who had sought work in the past four weeks, Employment Security officials said Tuesday.
Both counties have seen lower unemployment rates in 2017 than in 2016.
The jobless rates in November 2016 were 7.2 percent in Clallam County and 7.1 percent in Jefferson County.
Statewide numbers
The seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate remained at 4.5 percent last month.
National unemployment remained at 4.1 percent, according to Employment Security and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jobs added
The state added 9,800 jobs last month and 97,900 since November 2016.
Unemployment rates at the county level are not seasonally adjusted because the sample size is too small to accommodate that additional analysis, Employment Security officials said.
San Juan County had the lowest estimated unemployment rate in the state last month at 3.7 percent, followed by Asotin (3.8 percent), King (3.9 percent) and Whitman (3.9 percent) counties.
Highest unemployment
Ferry County had the state’s highest unemployment rate in November at 10.4 percent, followed by Pacific (6.5 percent), Stevens (6.2 percent), Grays Harbor (6.1 percent) and Pend Oreille (6.1 percent) counties.