San Juan jobless rate third-lowest in state

San Juan County’s jobless rate was 4.2 percent in March, the third-lowest in the state and below the state rate of 6.1 percent and the U.S. rate of 5.7 percent.

The lowest jobless rates in Washington state were in Whitman, 2.2 percent; and Garfield, 3.5 percent. The highest was in Ferry, 18.8 percent.

State Employment Security Commissioner Sylvia Mundy said Washington and the nation recorded employment growth in March; in the state, employment increased by 97,700 while the number of unemployed workers declined by 45,700.

Still, Mundy cautioned, “The state has a long way to go in its labor market recovery.”

In March, the San Juans had a labor force of 6,270, with 6,000 employed and 270 unemployed. In February, the San Juans had a labor force of 6,150, with 5,840 employed and 320 unemployed, a jobless rate of 5.1 percent. In March 2003, the San Juans had a labor force of 6,350, with 5,970 employed and 3,870 unemployed, a jobless rate of 6.0 percent.

For most of 2003, the total number of jobs in Washington state barely exceeded levels in 2002, the Employment Security Department reported. Starting in November, however, the number of jobs started to climb significantly over year-ago levels. At that point, job gains in services began to outweigh the smaller job losses in manufacturing.

As of March, manufacturing is down 10,800 jobs over the year. The service sector and construction have started to create jobs in earnest.

Large over-the-year gainers include construction (+9,000), retail trade (+6,500), information (+2,300), financial activities (5,500), employment services (+6,100), education and health services (+5,200), and government (7,100). The increases in government come almost totally in state education and local government.

Unemployed workers can check online job listings at www.go2worksource.com.

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