Thurston County unemployment rate rises to 10.4 percent in July
Thurston County, plus other counties across the state, showed modest job growth last month, but it wasn’t enough to significantly chip away at the job losses triggered by COVID-19 earlier in the year.
The result was slightly higher unemployment rates in July than in June, according to state Employment Security Department data released Tuesday.
Thurston County added 600 jobs over the month, including 300 in leisure and hospitality (hotels and restaurants), but the jobless rate still rose to 10.4 percent in July from 8.9 percent in June, regional economist Jim Vleming said. A year ago Thurston’s jobless rate was 4.8 percent.
The challenge is that the county is still down 7,200 jobs over the year, including 3,300 jobs in leisure and hospitality, he said.
Significant job losses were triggered in the early days of the pandemic when the governor ordered certain industries to close to curb the spread of the virus.
“It’s kind of tough sledding right now,” Vleming said about the economy.
Thurston is right in line with both the state and nationa in terms of the proportion of jobless. Seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment was 10.3 percent in July. Nationally, for the same month, it was 10.2 percent.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
