In Our View: Addicted to Oregon

Every month, the aggravating reminder arrives for residents of Clark County: Our jobs market is far too reliant on Portland.The reminders come in the form of revised unemployment rates. For example, the county’s preliminary jobless rate for March was 8.5 percent. But when the revised figure was announced later, to include unemployed county residents who previously worked in Oregon, that rate jumped to 10.1 percent. Similarly, the early local unemployment rate for April was 7.8 percent, but when the revised figure is announced, it’s expected to be between 9 and 10 percent.

Clark County’s excessive reliance on jobs across the river is seen in other ways, not the least of which is traffic congestion. More than 60,000 local residents are believed to be commuting to jobs in Oregon.

Our community can never expect to declare absolute independence when one of the nation’s largest metropolitan complexes is thriving on the other side of the river, with a downtown that’s only about six miles from downtown Vancouver. But those embarrassing monthly reminders serve as stark proof to city and county politicians that they still have a long way to go in diversifying and expanding the jobs market here.

Nor should we expect to become more like Seattle than Portland. But when more local residents work locally, our unemployment rates will more closely resemble statewide progress. Those statistics repeatedly are more positive than ours. Wednesday, the Employment Security Department announced that Washington’s jobless rate in May was 6.8 percent, down from 7 percent in April and its lowest in more than four and a half years.

That rate is supported by other positive numbers. In the past year, the state has added more than 60,000 jobs. That’s because a greater variety of industries are thriving in Washington, from the agriculture-based eastern half of the state to the high-tech-dominated cities around Puget Sound. Some of the largest job increases have been seen in higher education, health services, and leisure and hospitality.

There are more stakeholders in this issue than just workers and those looking for work. A growing economy eases the burden on taxpayers, too. Another report Wednesday came from the State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, which predicted a $231 million increase in state revenue, including $121 million for the 2013-15 biennium and $110 million for the current biennium (2011-13). One reason for the growth is a boost in housing activity.

Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all roses and lollipops for the state economy. Washington has regained only 162,000 of the 205,000 jobs that were obliterated during the Great Recession. And even with those projected increases in state revenue, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council noted that “the state faces about a $1 billion shortfall between the cost of all current obligations and revenue anticipated in the next biennium.” Nevertheless, Washington’s economy is on the rebound. And so is Clark County’s. We’ll catch up with the rest of the state when our community starts weaning itself away from so many Portland jobs.