PORT ANGELES — Fewer people were working on the North Olympic Peninsula in June, but unemployment rates were down slightly from May because 550 Clallam and Jefferson counties’ residents left the labor force, state officials estimated.
Clallam County’s unemployment rate dipped from a revised 7.7 percent in May to a preliminary 7.5 percent in June, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday.
There were 24,620 employed Clallam County citizens in June and 1,990 who were seeking work.
Jefferson County’s jobless rate went from a revised 7.1 percent in May to a preliminary 6.9 percent in June. There were 10,250 employed Jefferson County residents and 760 seeking a job last month.
The estimated unemployment rates do not count those who commute to other counties or have quit looking for a job.
Clallam County’s labor force was 26,610 in June, down from 26,970 in May.
The Jefferson County workforce was 11,010 last month, down from 11,200 in May.
A breakdown of the type of jobs gained or lost on the North Olympic Peninsula was not available.
In June of last year, the jobless rates were 7.6 percent in Clallam County and 7.3 percent in Jefferson County.
King County had the lowest unemployment last month at 4.0 percent. Ferry County in northeast Washington had the highest at 9.6 percent.
Statewide, the Washington private sector gained 2,600 jobs — and the public sector added 1,300 — as the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate went from 5.4 percent in May to 5.3 percent in June, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates.
Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate dipped from 5.5 percent to 5.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said.