Clark County’s employment growth “remained very strong” in the 12 months ending in February, the region’s labor economist reported Tuesday, adding 6,900 jobs and posting an annualized growth rate of 4.9 percent.
The region’s three big drivers of job creation were trade, transportation and utilities (up 1,600 jobs), professional and business services (up 1,400 jobs) and education and health services (up 1,000 jobs), said Scott Bailey, regional labor economist for the state Employment Security Department, in his analysis released Tuesday.
“Manufacturing remained in good shape,” Bailey wrote in his monthly labor market update. The sector added 400 jobs over the year, with all of the growth occurring in durables — fabricated metals, machinery and transportation equipment.
The job growth from a year ago included an increase of 500 jobs from January to February. However, that month-to-month growth was based on employment numbers that were not adjusted for seasonal factors. And the unadjusted monthly net gains were minor, showing up in only a few industries. Other sectors either showed no net gain over the month or experienced a loss. Retail trade, for example, “finished the post-holiday layoffs by cutting 200 jobs” from January to February, according to Bailey.
And when you account for seasonal factors, as Bailey did, Clark County actually shed 100 nonfarm jobs from January to February. As Bailey put it, “job growth took a breather in February in Clark County.”
Nevertheless, the county’s annual payroll gains and growth rate remain healthy.
“Every major sector was once again up over the year,” Bailey wrote in his analysis, including construction and natural resources (up 500 jobs), government (up 500 positions), information services (up 500 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (up 300 positions).
The county’s annualized growth rate of 4.9 percent in February more than doubled the nation’s (2 percent), surpassed those of Washington and Oregon (3.2 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively) and exceeded that of the Portland metro area (3.2 percent).
Still, unemployment continues to be a sore spot.
Clark County’s preliminary unemployment rate in February clocked in at 7.8 percent. That’s down from 8.9 percent unemployment in February 2014. However, February’s initial jobless rate is likely to see an upward revision. The revision would take into account those unemployed county residents who previously worked in Oregon. The county’s preliminary unemployment rate of 8 percent in January was revised upward to 8.4 percent.
“Despite steady job growth, unemployment remained high,” Bailey wrote in his analysis. While not precise, measures of the labor force “indicate that the number of employed and unemployed residents has increased over the past year,” according to Bailey. The increase in unemployed residents suggests that people who had dropped out of the labor force are now returning to hunt for jobs. And the return of unemployed job seekers helps keep the county’s jobless rate elevated.
At the same time, job losses, as measured by claims for unemployment insurance, “remained at a very low level,” Bailey wrote. “Initial unemployment claims this past year have been lower than at any time going back to the first available data from 1998.” Meanwhile, continued claims for jobless insurance kept moving downward in February, according to Bailey, “and were close to being back to pre-recession levels.”
Clark County’s labor market report for March, including payroll and unemployment figures, is slated for release April 21.
