70,000 jobless, but county unemployment rate decreases by 3%

EVERETT — Snohomish County’s unemployment rate rebounded slightly in May following a record-high jobless mark, but nearly 71,000 people are still out of work.

The 16.2% rate — a reprieve from April’s state-leading numbers — put Snohomish County closer to the state’s 14.8% unemployment rate reported by the Employment Security Department.

“The 3% decrease in unemployment doesn’t necessarily mean we are substantially seeing an improvement in the economy,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, a regional labor economist with the Employment Security Department. “Yes, there is an improvement, but it has to be taken in the context of a devastating April.”

Vance-Sherman said that while unemployment rates shoot up like a rocket, it often comes back down like a feather, so progress may be slow. Leisure and hospitality and construction were the only industries to add jobs in May, both are down more than 20% from this time last year.

Similarly, Washington added 52,500 jobs in May, but more than 300,000 initial unemployment claims were filed during the month.

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