The unemployment rate for Kitsap County jumped by nearly 1 percent from January to February.
The preliminary unemployment rate for last month was 7.1 percent. The revised unemployment rate for January was 6.2 percent (adjusted down from the initial estimate of 6.4 percent).
Kitsap’s workforce grew from January to February, but fewer workers were employed, according to a report from the state Employment Security Department (posted below). The unemployment rate was still well under the rates for February 2013 and 2012. These county statistics are not adjusted to account for seasonal trends.
The number of workers employed by non-farm industries in Kitsap remained steady from January at 83,400. Non-farm employment is up substantially through the first two months of the year compared to 2013.
Statewide, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate held at 6.4 percent from January to February. The steady unemployment rate, combined with slight growth in the labor force and the addition of 2,500 new jobs, is good news.
“That’s a positive sign,” state labor economist Paul Turek said in a news release. “The economy is holding its own. People are moving into the job market and actually finding jobs.”
The full February employment report for Kitsap is posted below:
