After months of consecutive increases, the unemployment rate in Lewis County ticked down to 6.7% in March.
The rate comes after the county reported a 7.8% unemployment rate in February, a 7.1% rate in January and 6.3% in December.
The unemployment rate lags behind several neighboring counties in Southwest Washington, though it remains higher than the state unemployment rate of 4.8%, according to data released by the Employment Security Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate in Washington has ticked up since the state reported a 3.6% rate in September 2023.
“Even though Washington employers added jobs for two consecutive months, the overall trend of job growth has been declining over time,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief regional economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department, in a statement.
The state paid unemployment insurance to 72,162 residents in March, a decrease of 1,478 paid claims in February. Washington reported a labor force, which is defined as the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16, of 3,640,500 in March.
Across Southwest Washington, Thurston County reported a 5.3% unemployment rate, Skamania County saw a rate of 6.4%, Pierce County reported a 6% rate, Cowlitz County saw a 6.2% rate, Grays Harbor County is at 7.8%, Pacific County is at 7.1% and Wahkiakum County is at 8.6%.
Washington largely lags behind the national unemployment rate of 3.8%.
Learn more at https://esd.wa.gov/labormarketinfo/monthly-employment-report.
