County's June unemployment state's third-lowest

DAVENPORT – Lincoln County had the state’s third-lowest unemployment rate in June, according to the Employment Security Department’s Labor Market and Economic Analysis report for that month released July 20. The county’s unemployment rate was 4.3%, a full percentage point lower than the state average of 5.3%.

The only counties with a lower rate were Asotin County at 3.4% and Walla Walla County at 3.9%. The highest unemployment rates in the state were found in Pacific and Grays Harbor Counties, both at 7.4%.

Lincoln County has a civilian work force of 4,510, and just 196 were reported unemployed in June while 4,314 had a job. The work force shrunk quite slightly from May, when 4,516 were in the work force and 4,329 of those people had a job. The unemployment rate in May was 4.1%.

The unemployment outlook is a vast improvement from June 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic created economic havoc around the country. Then, the unemployment rate here was 7.0%, with 315 of the county’s 4,510 workers out of a job. Some counties around the state had unemployment numbers as high as 13.7% in June 2020.

Lincoln County averaged a 6.8% unemployment rate during 2020 but hasn’t reached that number any month during 2021. The highest unemployment rate came in February at 6.0%, and bottomed at May’s 4.1%.

April 2020 showed the county’s highest unemployment rate of the last four years at 11.7%. Sept. 2018 was the lowest unemployment rate of the last four years at 3.6%, so a 4.3% mark for June is an encouraging outlook for the county compared to where it was last year.

Initial unemployment claims statewide for the week of July 18-24, which is the last week the data was made available, were down 10% from the previous week and 84% below the same period during the pandemic.

Lincoln County added 10 private jobs from May to June, 10 in goods producing and 10 mining, logging and construction jobs. Manufacturing, service providing, trade, transportation, utilities, informational and financial and government jobs didn’t change from May to June.