Kitsap County enjoyed a strong start to the year on the employment front, with more jobs and more county residents working in January than in previous years.
That momentum carried through February, with solid, if less robust, employment numbers.
Jobs in Kitsap
The number of people working for Kitsap employers in February dipped slightly from January, but was still 2.5 percent higher than in February 2014, according to preliminary data from the Employment Security Department.
Both private companies and government agencies in Kitsap employed more people in February than at the same time in 2014.
Here’s a graphical look at jobs in Kitsap County:
Labor force and employment
Overall employment numbers for Kitsap residents were less
encouraging.
The labor force — the total number of county residents working or actively looking for work — shrank between January to February, and was smaller than in February 2014.
Employment followed a similar trend, sliding from about 108,800 Kitsap resident working in January to 108,070 in February.
Here’s a graphical look at labor force and employment trends:
