County unemployment rates fall in May, but not by much
After Washington unemployment rates soared in April, they fell a bit in May with more people returning to work under the state’s phased reopening of the economy, according to the state Employment Security Department.
Pierce and Thurston counties added jobs over the month, which chipped away at elevated jobless rates.
According to regional economist Jim Vleming:
In Pierce, the county added 13,600 jobs over the month. Leading the way was the retail trade, transportation and utilities category, which added 4,500 jobs. The county also showed gains in construction and leisure and hospitality.
Those job gains helped lower the county’s jobless rate to 16.9 percent in May from a revised April figure of 18.7 percent.
The state always releases a preliminary unemployment rate and a revised figure for the previous month.
Thurston County added 1,200 jobs in the same period, with construction showing the biggest gain at 1,000 jobs. That helped lower the county’s unemployment rate to 14.4 percent in May from a revised 15.9 percent in April.
Regional economist Vleming expects to see the economy bounce back as long as COVID-19 cases don’t rise dramatically.
“As things open up and people start moving around, and we move through the phases, we will see a little more job growth,” he said, but elevated jobless rates are “not going to go away overnight.”
Seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment was 15.1 percent in May, according to Employment Security. The national jobless rate for the same month was 13.3 percent.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 11:40 AM.
