The North Olympic Peninsula gained jobs and job seekers in January as Clallam and Jefferson County unemployment rates rose after the holidays, state officials said.
Clallam County’s unemployment rate leaped from a revised 6.0 percent in December to a preliminary 7.4 percent in January, the state Employment Security Department said.
Jefferson County unemployment went from a revised 5.0 percent in December to a preliminary 5.8 percent in January, according to a Tuesday report.
Both counties had more people working and more job seekers from December to January.
Clallam County had 27,696 working residents in January and 2,223 seeking work. The Clallam County labor force grew from 29,222 in December to 29,919 in January, Employment Security said.
“We had an increase of 700 in the labor force and employment didn’t quite keep up with that level,” said Jim Vleming, Employment Security regional economist, in a Tuesday interview.
Jefferson County had 12,695 who were working in January and 777 seeking work. The Jefferson County labor force grew from 13,335 in December to 13,472 in January.
A labor force is the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, older than 16.
The state unemployment rate dipped from 4.3 percent in December to 3.9 percent in January while national unemployment went from 3.5 to 3.6 percent, according to Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state gained 6,800 jobs for the month and 79,400 jobs for the year, Employment Security said.
“Strong hiring of household members moved the state’s low unemployment rate even lower,” said Paul Turek, state economist.
“A mild contraction in the state’s labor force added to the downward push.”
King County had the lowest unemployment in the state in January at 2.7 percent, followed by Snohomish (3.1 percent) and Whitman (3.9 percent) counties.
Ferry County had the highest unemployment at 12.4 percent, followed by Okanogan (9.4 percent), Grant (9.2 percent) and Pend Oreille (9.2 percent) counties.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
