County’s unemployment rates third lowest for 2014

Whitman County’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the state according to the latest report released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate for the county averaged 5.1 percent for 2014 which is the third lowest in the state.

The overall state rate was 6.2 percent.

King County at 4.1 percent and Snohomish at 4.5 percent are the only other counties with rates lower than Whitman County.

Counties with the highest unemployed averages in 2014 were Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille, all at 10.9 percent.

According to the report, traditionally employment in Whitman County tends to grow at a very slow and steady rate.

Employment at WSU continues to recover, according to the report. Student enrollment will keep increasing.

The civilian labor force for the last seven months of 2014 averaged 20,290 in Whitman County, which was below the 20,856 average figure for the same period a year ago.

Employment decreased in 2014 in both construction and manufacturing jobs but planned expansion in manufacturing is expected to increase manufacturing jobs in 2015.

Service-providing employment increased in the first half of 2014 by 270.

Whitman County job holders in 2012, the last year cited, were almost equally distributed between three major age groups. The 45 to 54 year olds had 20.9 percent of the employment. The age group 25 to 34 accounted for 20.8 percent of employment, while 55 and older made up 21 percent of employment.

In 2012, 51.7 percent of all industry jobs were held by men and 48.3 percent were held by women.

• Male dominated industries included agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (87.6 percent), construction (88.6 percent), wholesale trade (81.3 percent), transportation and warehousing (77.8 percent) and utilities (74.72 percent).

• Female-dominated industries included healthcare and social assistance (78.1 percent), finance and insurance (68.7 percent) and other services (63.2 percent).

The county annual average wage was $40,787 in 2013, which is well below the state’s average annual wage of $53,029. In 2013, Whitman County ranked 12th for average annual wages among the 39 counties in the state.

In 2012, the per capita income in Whitman County was $33,356, below the state’s per capita income of $46,045, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Over the period 2008 to 2012, 32.3 percent of the population was living below the poverty level in Whitman County, well above 12.9 percent for the state.

According to census estimates, from 2008 to 2012 in Whitman County, 96.2 percent of people age 25 and older were high school graduates.