North Olympic Peninsula unemployment rates were down slightly in August and remained below 2017 levels, the state Employment Security Department said this week.
Clallam County’s estimated unemployment rate dipped from a revised 5.7 percent in July to a preliminary 5.6 percent in August, Employment Security reported Tuesday.
Jefferson County unemployment fell from a revised 5.3 percent in July to a preliminary 5.0 percent in August.
The unemployment rates in August 2017 were 6.5 percent in Clallam County and 5.8 percent in Jefferson County.
Clallam County had 26,103 workers and 1,553 actively seeking a job in August, state officials said.
Jefferson County had 11,329 working and 602 seeking work.
A person is considered unemployed if he or she is able to work and has looked for a job within the past four weeks, Employment Security said.
Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted state unemployment rate dipped from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent in August.
National unemployment remained at 3.9 percent, according to Employment Security and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
State employers added 9,100 jobs last month and 109,400 over the year, according to Employment Security estimates. Most of the job gains were in the private sector.
The 4.5 percent August unemployment rate was the lowest in the state since 1976.
“The state data continues to demonstrate the positive trends in its economy,” said Paul Turek, an Employment Security economist.
“The civilian labor force is up in August, and total unemployment is down, both month-to-month and over the year.”
Unemployment rates at the county level are not seasonally-adjusted because the sample size is too small to accommodate the additional analysis.
San Juan County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in August at 2.9 percent, followed by King (3.2 percent), Asotin (3.5 percent) and Snohomish (3.5 percent).
Ferry County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 9.3 percent, followed by Pend Oreille (6.2 percent), Stevens (6.1 percent) and Mason (6.0 percent) counties.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
