Clark County employers add 1,300 jobs in June

Clark County employers added a massive 1,300 new jobs in June, adjusted for seasonal changes, according to figures released Tuesday by the Employment Security Department.

Unadjusted, there were 2,500 new jobs added in Clark County in June, bringing total employment here to almost 240,000. It was the largest monthly increase since June 2020, when more than 5,800 people went back to work as the first spike of the pandemic began to recede.

Last month, almost every industry sector added jobs:

• Construction: 600
• Trade, transportation and utilities: 400
• Professional and business services: 400
• Education and health services: 300
• Leisure and hospitality: 400

“June was a great month,” said Scott Bailey, regional economist for Southwest Washington.

The unemployment rate in Clark County dropped to 4.5 percent in June. It’s more than a percentage point less than a year ago.

“The number of unemployed residents was estimated at just over 11,300, 20 percent fewer than the 14,200 estimate from a year ago,” Bailey wrote in an email.

Compared with other Washington counties and states, Clark County is faring much better.

“Since the onset of COVID in February 2020, the county has gained a net 8,100 jobs, an increase of 4.8 percent. That was better than the nation (minus 0.3 percent), the state (0.2 percent), Oregon (minus 0.9 percent), Seattle metro (minus 1.2 percent) and the Portland metro area (minus 0.5),” according to Bailey.