Unemployment back in double digits on Grays Harbor

The unemployment rate on Grays Harbor broke into double digits in November for the first time in six months, one of only three counties in the state to register a jobless rate of more than 10 percent.

Grays Harbor’s unemployment rate jumped .7 percent over October to 10.6 percent last month, retaining its unwanted distinction as the county with the highest unemployment rate in the state. Grays Harbor hadn’t seen double-digit unemployment since May, though the jobless rate has been trending upward since September.

Pacific County’s jobless rate increased by .5 percent over October to 9.9 percent, tying it with Columbia County for the fourth-highest rate in the state.

Wahkiakum County was just below Grays Harbor with 10.5 percent unemployment — a 1.5 percent spike over the previous month — while Lewis County registered the other double-digit jobless rate at 10.3 percent. Rounding out the top 10 unemployment rates were Pend Oreille (9.7 percent), Stevens (9.6), Ferry and Franklin (both at 9.5) and Yakima (9.0).

Southwest Washington counties registered four of the 10 highest unemployment rates, while the northeastern corner of the state accounted for three more. The two regions of the state have continued to be the hardest-hit by joblessness over the last few years.

King County once again had the lowest jobless rate in November at 4.4 percent, well below the statewide rate of 6.1 percent. King County’s rate actually decreased by .1 percent over the previous month, while the statewide unemployment rate ticked up by .3 percent in November.

None of the jobless figures are seasonally adjusted.

Grays Harbor spent six months of 2014 below 10 percent unemployment, with four of those months below 9 percent. Pacific County has stayed in the single digits since March, tallying four months below 8 percent unemployment.

Grays Harbor’s rate peaked in February at 11.9 percent, though the jobless rate has trended upward since July’s low of 8 percent. In Pacific County, the unemployment rate also peaked in February at 10.6 percent, but has increased over the last four months from a low of 7.1 percent in July, including a 2 percent spike between September and October.

That cycle matches the last two years — though the high and low jobless rates are lower than 2012 and 2013 — as unemployment bottoms out in the summer with seasonal job opportunities, and then ticks up in the fall and winter.