Grant County unemployment drops in February

YAKIMA — Unemployment in Grant County dropped eight-tenths of 1 percent between January and February 2017, and was lower than in February 2016. Unemployment was 9.7 percent in February, down from 10.5 percent in January 2017, and down from 10.7 percent in February 2016.

Between February 2016 and February 2017, "the civilian labor force contracted marginally while the number of unemployed (Grant County) residents decreased rapidly,” wrote Don Meseck, Yakima, regional labor economist for the Washington Employment Security Department.

“Although a shrinking labor force is just about never good economic news, a decline in the number of unemployed residents is,” Meseck wrote. “The six-tenths point dip in the (unemployment) rate between the Februaries of 2016 and 2017 is good news for the local economy.”

Nonfarm employment in Grant County has risen each of the last 11 months, April 2016 to February 2017. But “local job growth rates have consistently lagged behind statewide job growth rates,” he wrote. Between February 2016 and February 2017 the county’s labor force “shrank from 42,630 residents to 42,161 residents (bad news) while the number unemployed fell from 4,385 to 4,074 (good news).”

There was good news in the county’s wholesale trade sector, which includes server farms. It was “one of two nonfarm industries that added the most to jobs to the Grant County economy this February.” The number of jobs increased from 1,650 in February 2016 to 1,760 in February 2017, a 6.7 percent increase. “The industry has grown for the past 13 months,” Meseck wrote.

There was also good news in the transportation, warehousing and private utilities sector. It grew by 110 new jobs between the Februaries. “Employment in this industry has expanded in each of the past 22 months, May 2015 through February 2017.”

The news wasn’t so good in the manufacturing sector. The durable goods manufacturing sector has lost jobs, when counted year-over-year, for 16 consecutive months. “Between the Februaries of 2016 and 2017, durable goods manufacturing fell 5.7 percent, a 120-job downturn.”

But the non-durable goods sector added 40 jobs between January and February, and 70 jobs between February 2016 and February 2017.

The “logging, mining, and construction” sector in Grant County is mostly construction jobs. “The local construction industry has experienced year-over-year employment increases for the past eight months, July 2016 through February 2017.”