YAKIMA, Wash. -- On Monday, 18 people will begin Alternative Route Teacher Preparation, a program run by Education Service District 105 to help participants gain teacher certification in a year.   

That’s double the number of participants in last year’s group, said ESD 105 public information officer David Goehner. And many more applied to the program.

While local school districts are still concerned about state budget cuts, they are still looking to fill teaching positions in several high-demand areas including math, science and special education. Goehner notes that several special education positions have been open for at least a year.

“That’s indicative of the high need that still exists to recruit skilled experts in some specific areas, such as special education, to serve students in our region,” he said.

Such positions fall under the local government sector, one of only two industries to see a year-over-year increase in jobs last month.

Several other sectors have continued to cut positions while the number of Yakima County residents without jobs continues to increase.

About 11,200 Yakima County residents were without jobs in May, compared with 7,860 residents in May 2008, leading to unemployment rates of 9.3 percent and 6.6 percent respectively, according to preliminary figures from the state Employment Security Department.

The agency, which released the May numbers on Tuesday, also revised the unemployment rate for April 2009 from 9.9 percent to 9.6 percent.

Meanwhile, Yakima’s May unemployment rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, is nearly equal to the state rate of 9.2 percent, compared to just 4.9 percent during the same month a year ago.

The state also reports a seasonally adjusted rate, which accounts for factors such as summer hiring. That rate was 9.4 percent compared to 5.1 percent in May 2008.

Yakima County does not report seasonally adjusted rates.

While unemployment levels in the past few months have continued to increase from the previous year, there are signs that the employment situation is improving, said Doug Tweedy, regional economist for state Employment Security.

The number of people filing for unemployment insurance for the first time in Yakima County dropped from the peak level of 2,662 claims in April to 2,659 last month.

“When claims start dropping we’re within a couple of months at the end of job loss,” Tweedy said.

The county had a year-over-year loss of 3,200 nonagricultural jobs in May as nearly every industry cut positions.

The county had 76,300 nonagricultural jobs last month, compared to 79,500 a year ago.

Manufacturing has continued to have dramatic cuts in jobs. That industry had the greatest drop with 1,300 jobs.

Job levels in transportation, warehousing and utilities remained flat.

Along with a gain of 300 jobs in local government, education and health services also had a year-over-year increase of 400 jobs last month.

As was the case for the past few months, recent cuts reflect less on closures and more on companies restructuring themselves to be more efficient, Tweedy said.

While that may create pain in the short term, it may create a better employment situation long term.
“I think that’s a good sign for the future,” he said. “I think that makes them better able to compete in the future.”

• Mai Hoang can be reached at 509-577-7685, or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.



12-month look at unemployment in Yakima County. May 2009 figure is preliminary.

May 2009 9.3          May 2008 6.6
April 2009 9.6         May 2008 6.4
March 2009 10.1    March 2008 6.9
February 2009 10.1 February 2008 7.9
January 2009 10.7   January 2009 8.6
December 2008 9.3  December 2007 7.8
November 2008 7.3  November 2007 6.7
October 2008 5.2     October 2007 4.2
September 2008 5.1 September 2007 4.4
August 2008 7.2       August 2007 5.7
July 2008 6.2            July 2007 5.4
June 2008 6.5           June 2007 5.3

SOURCE: Washington State Employment Security Department.