The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged last month after the June data were revised upward to 9.3 percent from 9.2 percent. The state added 5,700 jobs last month and 4,700 in June after revisions. The state has added jobs for 11 consecutive months, but the job growth still is too slow to reduce the unemployment rate, Employment Security Chief Economist Dave Wallace said.
“It’s growing, but it’s not strong enough to chip away at the unemployment rate,” he said.
Wallace has said that the state needs to create about 6,000 jobs a month for a year to cut the jobless rate by 1 percent.
The unemployment numbers and the total job numbers come from two surveys, and Wallace said it’s possible that some people could be picking up multiple jobs – adding to the jobs number while not helping the unemployment rate.
Wallace said it’s not entirely clear why there have been several months of mixed signals, with rising jobs along with a rising unemployment rate.
Wallace said he remains concerned about “global and national factors that might be disruptive” to the economy. These include Europe’s debt crisis, a lower-than-expected U.S. gross national product and a volatile stock market.
Eight job sectors expanded last month, including leisure and hospitality with 1,700 jobs, while four job sectors declined. A job sector known as “other services” shed 2,200 jobs, followed by information, down 1,000 jobs, the data show.
More than 300,000 people in the state were unemployed in July, and about 185,000 received jobless benefits, according to Employment Security. As of Aug. 6, more than 60,000 workers had exhausted their benefits.
Jobless data for Thurston and Pierce counties for July will be released Tuesday. Pierce County’s jobless rate in June was 10 percent, up from 9.5 percent in May, and Thurston County’s unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in June, up from 8 percent in May.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/bizblog
