Clark County logs 4th straight month of ‘solid’ growth in jobs

February marked another strong month for job growth in Clark County, peppered across various industries.

According to a report from the state Employment Security Department released Tuesday, Clark County added 700 jobs, adjusted for seasonal trends. The hiring was spread across many sectors, said regional economist Scott Bailey.

Without adjusting for seasonal trends, the county added 1,100 jobs that were mainly buoyed by construction, professional services, business services and education. General merchandise stores lost 200 jobs.

February’s showing marks the fourth consecutive month of strong job growth, adding on to the 1,000 jobs added in January. Bailey said that may slow down a bit, however.

“It’s been near 4 percent (job growth) the last few years. We might be closer to 3 percent this year, but still pretty solid,” he said. “Especially when unemployment is low.”

Clark County has added 5,900 jobs over the past 12 months, amounting to 3.8 percent job growth. The Vancouver-Portland metro area — which includes Clark and Skamania counties with five Oregon counties — added 20,500 jobs for 1.8 percent growth. Job growth over that same time has been 1.6 percent nationwide, 3 percent in Washington and 2.3 percent in Oregon.

The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 5.6 percent in February, but Bailey noted that the rate does not adjust for seasonal trends, either.