Whatcom County Jobs Report Strong!
Whatcom County’s unemployment rate dropped by a whopping half a percentage point from what it was in July to the just released August numbers. These historic low numbers are very good news for the local Bellingham - Whatcom County economy.
The local unemployment rate was 4 percent in August, down from 4.6 percent in July, according to numbers released Tuesday from the Washington Employment Security Department. However, the total number of people in the labor force and those working declined in the past month. Whatcom County actually lost 400 non agricultural jobs compared to July. Year-over-year, however, Whatcom County has gained 1,900 non-agricultural jobs.
One possible factor for the labor force drop are that schools like WWU, Whatcom Community College and area high school students are finishing up their summer jobs and getting ready for school.
It’s still a tight labor market in Whatcom County, and I would expect it to remain around this level for the next couple of months. I would be surprised to see the numbers drop much below 4 percent locally. That is hard to sustain, especially without significant job growth.
Among the local industries, leisure and hospitality has seen significant growth. The number of people employed in that industry increased by 200 from July to August; in the past 12 months that industry has added 800 jobs.
For the past 12 months, retail jobs are up by 600, construction jobs are down by 200 while manufacturing is up by 300.
In agriculture, the total employment in Western Washington increased 2.5 percent compared to August 2006. Last month there were 13,126 people employed in agriculture in Western Washington.
The record low unemployment in recent decades for Whatcom County is 3.8 percent, which was matched in May 2007 and October 2006.
Washington State’s unemployment rate also dropped. Seasonably adjusted, Washington’s rate was 4.6 percent, down from 4.9 percent in July. The lower unemployment rate was accompanied by an increase of 10,400 non-agricultural jobs. Among major metro areas, King County had a 3.5 percent unemployment rate, followed by Snohomish County at 3.7 percent. Partially via Bellinghamherald
Low unemployment numbers like these should help the local Bellingham real estate and housing markets with more and more people gainfully employed.
Jerry Campbell - Muljat Group - Bellingham, WA 98225 - Bellingham Real Estate
CH2M Hill doubling work force - The local Bellingham work force for CH2M Hill will double over the next two years according to a company spoksman from the former VECO company. This is more good news for the local Whatcom County jobs report and local economy which is already experiencing historic low unemplyment numbers around 4%. CH2M Hill plans to add as many as 230 new workers for its Bellingham engineering office in the next two years.
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