Unemployment in Clark County dropped by a half percentage point from 6.4 percent in January to 5.9 percent in February.
“A drop of this magnitude in February is unusual,” Scott Bailey wrote in his monthly employment update. The regional economist works at Washington’s Employment Security Department.
Clark County netted 600 new jobs in February, half of which were in professional and business services. The health care industry added 200 jobs while leisure and hospitality and government also added jobs.
As the last of the holiday shopping season layoffs wrapped up last month, the retail industry shed 200 jobs. Fabricated metal products manufacturing lost 100 jobs.
What’s more interesting is the number of jobs gained in the last year. The report estimated there were 4,400 more local jobs in February 2017 than there were in February 2016. Unemployment was 6.7 percent in February 2016, according to employment security’s monthly report.
In neighboring Cowlitz County, unemployment was 7.3 percent last month.
Washington’s overall unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in February, typically higher in rural areas and lower in urban areas. At 3.3 percent, King County has the state’s lowest unemployment rate. Unemployment was greatest in Ferry County, 12.3 percent where the workforce totals 2,607.
Generally, unemployment is trending downward in the entire Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore. metro area. It declined to 3.5 percent in February, from 3.9 percent in January, according to the Oregon Employment Department.
“This is the lowest rate since comparable records began in 1990,” said Oregon’s regional economist, Amy Vander Vliet.
“The metro area gained 6,500 jobs in February, offsetting January’s loss of 4,700 jobs,” she wrote in her monthly report.
Last month’s new jobs were primarily in construction, education and health services, professional and business services and leisure and hospitality. Government added 2,500 jobs, despite the loss of 200 federal jobs, the report said.
