Preliminary estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show Washington’s economy continues to create jobs on a year-over-year basis, and the unemployment rate held firm at 5.8 percent in July.
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“Oregon’s unemployment rate is so low, it would be unusual to see it fall much further”, Beleiciks said.
A good-news interpretation, on the other hand, would point out that OR continued to add jobs in July – 3,800, double the June increase.
The construction industry and business services saw the most market growth, adding thousands of jobs, while the manufacturing industry lost about 800 jobs.
Private-sector employment decreased by 1,000 jobs, but government employment increased 3,600 for a net increase of 2,600 jobs in July.
The county’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April of 4.7 percent was the lowest rate in 26 years, according to the Employment Department.
“We have a two-sided economy, a divided economy, taking place”, Paul Turek, state labor economist, said during a conference call Wednesday.
The latter was a surprise because construction has been a star performer for the past year, adding 7,500 jobs since July 2015. For instance, if they hired the crews they needed earlier in the year, then they didn’t have to hire as many workers as they usually do in July. Other services grew by 4,100 jobs, or 6.7 percent. Unemployment in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area dropped from 4.6 percent in June to 4.4 percent last month.
Stay on topic – This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand. The difference between good news and bad news often just depends how you look at the numbers.
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