The high unemployment numbers in Clark County in December weren’t as bad as previously thought, and January showed more signs of economic improvement.
Revisions to December’s job count in Clark County showed 1,200 more jobs, according to Scott Bailey, regional economist for Southwest Washington.
However, Bailey noted that the total number of jobs now is still 5.7 percent lower than just before the pandemic.
“We’re a little better than at the bottom of the 2008 recession,” he said. “It’s a little daunting.”
Right now, Clark County’s estimated employment loss is less than the United States, less than the state, and less than the Portland metro area, he said.
“There were a bunch of revised numbers that moved in the right direction,” he said.
In January, Clark County gained 800 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis.
“We’re always losing jobs in January due to weather and holiday shopping coming to an end,” he said. “It was less negative than usual by 800 jobs. There was less of a loss in retail.”
Bailey said that he thinks we’ll get a turning point by the end of summer when as many people as possible will be vaccinated, and the economy and job market will pick up.
“There will be a psyche of a new normal,” he said. “The fear’s going to ebb away. Things will open up.”
Bailey said he expects most of the recovery to be from the middle and upper classes, and economically lower-class individuals will struggle to gain a foothold.
“I’m not suggesting it will be an equitable recovery; income and race factors will be a lot of work,” he said.
