Grant County December unemployment rate lowest in more than 30 years

MOSES LAKE — Employment in Grant County is beginning to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The December 2021 unemployment rate was 5.6%, according to the Washington Employment Security Department. That was a substantial decrease from the December 2020 unemployment rate of 8.1%.

Unemployment did increase between November and December 2021. The unemployment rate for November 2021 was 4.7%.

“The December 2021 (unemployment) rate was the lowest December reading in Grant County since data began to be recorded electronically in 1990,” wrote Don Meseck, WESD regional labor economist, in a press release.

Unemployment had increased, when measured year over year, every month from April 2020 through March 2021, Meseck wrote. That trend switched to an improvement every month from April through December 2021.

“Year over year, the local labor force grew in each of the last four months of 2021, September through December,” Meseck said.

The number of people working grew faster than the number of people entering the labor force, he added.

“This likely indicates not only more residents were employed this past December than December 2020, but that a greater ratio of these residents commuted or teleworked to jobs outside Grant County,” he said.

Employment in durable goods manufacturing in Grant County continued to drop in 2021. Sixty fewer durable goods manufacturing jobs were available in 2021 than in 2020.

By contrast, employment in nondurable goods manufacturing increased in 2021. That sector gained 750 jobs from December 2020 to December 2021, Meseck wrote. Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing increased each of the last five months of last year.

Employment in the retail trade sector also increased, year over year. Retail trade provided 3,900 jobs in December 2021, compared to 3,470 jobs in December 2020. Employment in the retail trade sector stabilized or increased, measured year over year, from June 2020 to December 2021.

Employment in the leisure and hospitality sector also increased when measured against the same months the prior year. That sector includes hotels and motels, restaurants and bars, as well as recreation and entertainment venues.

Employment in leisure and hospitality increased year over year from April through December 2021. Jobs had dropped in that sector from April 2020 to March 2021.

The professional and business services sector also added jobs from December 2020 to December 2021. That sector includes businesses such as legal services, accounting and bookkeeping and IT services, among others. Employment in that sector grew by 170 jobs between December 2020 and December 2021.

Grant County’s construction sector also grew between December 2020 and December 2021, gaining 380 jobs, a 23.3% increase.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.