October unemployment figures for the North Olympic Peninsula remained lower than the same period last year despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But while the figures are lower than the same month last year, the jobless rates are higher than they were in September.
Nearly 4,000 workers in timber and related industries statewide lost their jobs last month, the figures also show.
Preliminary unemployment figures released Tuesday by the state Employment Security Department indicate:
* The Jefferson County jobless rate rose 1.2 percent — from 5.4 percent in September to 6.4 percent in October.
That rate is 1.1 percent higher than in October 2000, but well below this year’s high of 7 percent reported in February.
* Clallam County unemployment in October remained 0.7 percent lower than the same month last year, state figures show.
But the jobless rate still climbed 0.6 percent — from 5.9 percent in September to 6.5 percent in October.
The unemployment rate is still well below Clallam County’s 2001 high of 9.3 percent in February.
