A loss of retail jobs drove up unemployment on the North Olympic Peninsula in January, the state Employment Security Department reported Tuesday.
The jobless rate in Clallam County rose from 10.1 percent to 11.5 percent in January. It jumped from 9.4 percent to 10.7 percent in Jefferson County over that span.
Elizabeth Scott, regional economist for Employment Security, attributed the spike in unemployment to temporary workers leaving the market after the shopping season.
“These are not seasonally adjusted,” Scott explained. “They include all the holiday losses from retail.”
Clallam County lost 100 retail jobs in January. Jefferson County lost 160 service-providing jobs, which include retail, in January, Scott said.
On the bright side, first-time unemployment claims fell from 893 to 781 in Clallam County in January.
In Jefferson County, initial claims fell from 248 in December to 204 in January.
“Overall, the trends are positive, but we do have these time and seasonal things like the holidays that bump up the numbers,” Scott said.
February’s unemployment numbers will be released March 24. Employment Security is releasing state and Seattle metropolitan area employment data one week in advance of the rest of the state this year.
The unemployment rate was higher in January 2010 than January of this year in both Clallam and Jefferson counties.
It was 12.3 percent in Clallam County and 11.4 percent in Jefferson County in January 2010.
The jobless rates were on a slow but steady downward trend in both counties in the latter half of 2010.
Ferry County had the highest unemployment in January at 15.7 percent. Whitman County had the lowest at 6.3 percent.
The state jobless rate fell from 9.3 percent to 9.1 percent in January. The national unemployment rate dipped from 9.4 percent to 9.0 percent.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.