Grant County job numbers dip

GRANT COUNTY — Jobs numbers in Grant County dipped by 220 out of 41,150 in 2008, leaving the area with nearly 3,000 more jobs than the last four years.

Temporary and permanent nonfarm jobs declined by 220 jobs in October, or eight-tenths of a percent, as compared to October 2007, according to statistics released recently by the state Department of Employment Security.

Employment losses in Moses Lake include 150 people who were let go from aerial boom and scissors lift manufacturer Genie Industries, due to a decline in product demand.

Other job declines were shown in the trade, transportation and utilities sector, with a loss of 70 jobs, stated Tihamiyou Baba Moussa, a Wenatchee-based labor economist with the state Employment Security Department.

It appears the decline of 70 jobs is due to less shipping coming in for construction and fewer trucks moving out of Genie, said Jon Smith, communication and research manager for the Grant County Economic Development Council.

Smith also said the area is heading into the time of the year when there’s no crops.

Statewide, nonfarm jobs declined by seven-tenths of a percent from October 2007 to October 2008, Moussa noted.

It appears that Grant County is far below the state’s unemployment rate.

But too much focus on the unemployment rate can actually skew things, Smith said. It could be more people are in the labor force and looking for jobs, he added.

In this case, there’s few people employed, he said.

But despite the annual decline, there are 3,360 more people working in Grant County than there were in November 2004, Smith said.

Although Grant County’s unemployment rate of 5.5 percent for October, which is higher than it’s been in two years, the number is deceiving, he explained.

Statewide, the unemployment rate for October was 6.3 percent.

To get an accurate picture of job losses and growth locally, it’s important to pull figures before a construction boom started in Grant County, Smith noted.

In November 2004, there were 37,790 jobs in Grant County. In October 2008, 41,150 jobs were reported, said Smith.

“There’s still that much growth that occurred,” he said. “I think there were a dozen projects happening at the same time.”

He said the projects, including the construction of data centers in Quincy, REC Silicon’s expansion and expanding businesses at the Port of Mattawa and Port of Royal Slope, accounted for the job growth.

Smith added if that kind of growth occurred in Seattle, it wouldn’t make a dent in the figures.

He also said Genie has experienced job loss before and he’s sure the company’s employment will pick up as the demand for construction picks up.

For October, the top unemployment claims for temporary and permanent jobs in  Grant County were:

• Helpers-production workers, 120.

• Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers, 87.

• Construction laborers, 34.

• Carpenters, 33.

• Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer, 30.

• Assemblers and fabricators, all other, 28.

• Electricians, 21.

• Production, planning and expediting clerks, 18.

• Maintenance and repair workers, general, 17.

• Cashiers, 15.

• Industrial truck and tractor operators, 14.

• Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery and greenhouse, 13.

• Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, 13.

• Retail salespersons, 12.

• Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, 12.

• Landscaping and groundskeepers, 11.

• Personal and home care aides, 11.

• Office and administrative support workers, all other, 11.

• First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers, 11.

• Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic, 11.

• Sales representatives, services, all other, 10.

• First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers, 10.

Job seekers can visit their local WorkSource offices, where free help with interviewing skills, résumés and job referrals are available. Job postings can be found online at www.go2worksource.com.

WorkSource offices are listed in the blue pages of telephone books and online at www.go2worksource.com. People can also call 877-872-5627.