County unemployment climbs to 10.9%

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Unemployment numbers continued to climb in December, both in Yakima County and across the state.

The county had an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent, the highest number for December since an 11.5 percent ratein 2003, according to preliminary numbers from the State Employment Security department. The statewide unemployment rate jumped to 9.5 percent, the highest number since 1984.

Officials said more than 334,000 people in the state were unemployed and looking for work last month.

The highest unemployment rate in Washington is 14.3 percent in Clark County in the southwest region of the state. Whitman County in the east has the lowest mark at 4.6 percent. The largest county, King, was 8.5 percent.

In Yakima County, 13,090 residents were unemployed in December, compared with 11,060 during the same month in 2008. That produced unemployment rates of 10.9 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

It's typical for unemployment to be higher during the winter months when agricultural activity slows down. But layoffs in other sectors have further increased unemployment, said Doug Tweedy, regional economist for the state Employment Security Department.

"I think ag has shielded (Yakima County) to a point," he said. "With some of the job losses and companies that have restructured, that's overtaking that shielding that agriculture has done."

Indeed, the county did see a loss of jobs across several nonagricultural sectors. In December, Yakima County had 76,000 nonagricultural jobs, compared with 77,600 in December 2008.

With a drop of 800 jobs, retail trade accounted for nearly half of the jobs lost. Other sectors reporting declines include manufacturing at 700 jobs, mining, logging and construction at 600 jobs, and leisure and hospitality at 500 jobs.

Some sectors reported an increase in jobs. Wholesale trade, which includes jobs in fruit packing houses, saw an increase of 700 jobs, and health services and local government saw an increase of 200 jobs each.

Despite the losses, there were some signs of improvement, both statewide and in Yakima County.

In Yakima County, some companies in manufacturing, which was one of the hardest hit sectors in 2009, saw a slight increase in jobs.

There was also a slight increase in the number of people in the labor force, an indicator that more people are feeling encouraged to get back on the job hunt, Tweedy said.

Dave Wallace, chief economist with the Employment Security Department, noted that the 23,700 jobs lost across the state in the last six months of 2009 were notably less than the 80,000 job losses in the first six months of the year.

"Employment is a lagging economic indicator, so coming out of a recession, it is typical for jobs to be the last thing to return," he said. "But overall, job losses are clearly trending downward, and that's a positive sign."

* The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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