Grant County adds jobs faster than state labor market

Construction, manufacturing lead growth

GRANT COUNTY — The Grant County labor market added jobs faster than the statewide average during most quarters of this year.

Donald Meseck, with the Ellensburg-based Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch of Washington State Employment Security, said several industries contributed to the growth, but construction, manufacturing, accommodations and food services, or hotels and restaurants, are the industries appearing to drive growth.

"A lot of the developments in Grant County that have been projected, we're starting to see come to fruition," Meseck said.

The growth in accommodations and food services, Meseck postulated, might be due to the increase in construction workers and could mean residents have more disposable income or less time to cook at home.

From October 2005 to the same month in 2006, no single industry took a substantial loss over the year, he added, which is a sign of a healthy economy.

"Grant County's not putting all their eggs in one basket in terms of job growth," Meseck said. "Everything's up over the year."

Government employment is the only category remaining relatively flat.

Nonagricultural employers in Grant County provided 26,710 jobs in October 2006, up 1,120 jobs from the corresponding month in 2005.

Job growth in construction was 15.5 percent between the first quarters of 2005 and 2006, and 17.6 percent, 18.8 percent and a projected 20.9 percent between the second, third and fourth quarters of 2006 and corresponding quarters in 2005.

Job growth in accommodation and food services is projected to accelerate to 10.6 percent in this year's fourth quarter.

Manufacturing employment is on the upswing since the third quarter of 2005. Meseck attributed hiring at firms like Ephrata's Katana Industries and Moses Lake's Genie Industries to keeping the economy healthy.

The state's labor market added 76,600 nonagricultural jobs, a 2.8 percent increase, in 2005, and is projected to expand by 94,600 more in 2006, a 3.4 percent increase. The county added 560, a 2.3 percent increase, in 2005, and is projected to add 1,050 more, a 4.2 percent increase.

Agricultural employment is down this year compared to last. Meseck attributed this to a statewide drop in the fall apple harvest, with less crop requiring less labor to harvest, sort, pack and ship the crop. But the crop is still relatively profitable, he added.

"Although the crop is smaller, I'm seeing a big jump in wholesale trade," he said.

The year 2007 probably bodes well for Grant County, Meseck said.

He's impressed by the diversity of the county's job growth, dispersed amongst many industries, including biodiesel, manufacturing, or expansions in retail development and home construction in the Quincy and Moses Lake areas.

Compared to the other counties he serves — Meseck predicts Grant County's growth to be faster in the upcoming year. He pointed to the infrastructure and efforts by resident agencies and businesses.

"You put all those things together and it yields success," Meseck said. "I wouldn't say it's going to be boom times, but I would say the growth is going to be strong and well-dispersed, and probably last well into 2007, and maybe beyond.