Unemployment decreases, increases, decreases in Grant County in 2020

MOSES LAKE — The first 10 months of 2020 saw employment gains, then severe losses, then a modest bounceback, according to information from the Washington Department of Employment Security.

The “economic profile” released in late December covered through October 2020.

Don Meseck, regional WDES economist, said employment increased over the first quarter of 2020, when measured against 2019. The county lost jobs between April and July.

There was “a modest recovery in employment from August to October 2020,” Meseck wrote.

October 2020 was better than October 2019.

“Estimates indicate that total nonfarm employment rose from 31,280 jobs in October 2019 to 32,170 jobs in October 2020, a 890-job and 2.8% upturn,” Meseck said.

“Will this recent economic upturn in Grant County last? Much depends on how soon the COVID-19 virus can be contained or eradicated,” Meseck said.

While it’s difficult to make a forecast under the current conditions, he said, the long-term forecast is for modest growth for the five counties that make up the north central region, including Grant County, from 2017 to 2027.

Annual economic growth is projected to be about 1.3% for Grant, Adams, Okanogan, Chelan and Douglas counties, Meseck said.

While Grant County’s labor force grew between October 2019 and October 2020, “this labor force expansion was eclipsed by the rising numbers of unemployed,” Meseck wrote.

The October unemployment rate increased to 5.1% from 5% in October 2019.

But the jobs added in October put Grant County in a better position than many other areas of the state.

“When compared with current economic conditions statewide, Washington’s nonfarm labor market looks a bit weaker than Grant County’s labor market,” Meseck wrote.

The county’s labor force expanded each year between 2011 and 2019. Employment made substantial gains in 2018 before slowing in 2019. The first quarter of 2020 showed some gains before the arrival of the coronavirus in March, Meseck said.

Agriculture remains a dominant industry in Grant County, providing about 23% of the county’s jobs in 2019, the last year for which data is available. Local government provided about 17% of the county’s jobs. That category includes school districts, public utility districts, public hospitals and clinics, fire and police departments and ports.