County unemployment rate dips

The monthly employment report was released last week, showing a slight decline in the unemployment rate for the state and county.

The state's rate now stands at 5.2 percent, down from 5.3 from August. The 5.2 rate contrasts with a 6.3 percent unemployment rate in Sept. 2014.

Despite the slight decrease, the state actually saw job losses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report available on the Washington State Employment Security Department website.

“According to BLS estimates, the number of unemployed people fell by 1,400 in September 2015 compared to August 2015. At the same time, the number of employed people fell by an estimated 3,500. Overall, this amounted to a decrease of 4,900 people in the labor force.”

The report indicates that four industries expanded employment in September, seven saw losses and two were unchanged.

The national unemployment rate remained unchanged from August to September, standing at 5.1 percent.

On a county level, Whitman County continued to decrease following the typical summer increase in unemployment primarily attributed to seasonal trends due to Washington State University.

The new rate is now 4.1 percent, a dip from 4.7 percent in August. This ranks Whitman County with the third lowest unemployment rate statewide, tied with Snohomish and behind King (3.9) and Chelan (4.0) counties. Whitman County is one of 14 counties statewide below five percent.

The October 2015 national and state unemployment figures will be released Nov. 18 followed the county figures Nov. 24. The report will be available on the Washington State Employment Security Department website.

fortress.wa.gov/esd/employmentdata.