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May 7, 2008
About 250 more Tri-Citians filed for unemployment benefits last month than in April last year.
The 18.8 percent increase nearly mirrors the average 18 percent statewide jump in first-time claims in the four weeks ending April 19 over the same period last year.
In all, 1,564 workers in Benton and Franklin counties made new claims for unemployment benefits in April compared with 1,316 last year.
But local and state economists see no reason to worry.
It's cyclical, explained Dean Schau, state regional labor economist in the Tri-Cities.
For example in Benton and Franklin counties in March, the number of new claims was 1,078.
That compares with 1,230 in February and 2,137 in January.
Schau said the number of jobless claims needs to be seen together with the growth of jobs in the Tri-Cities and the state, particularly in the last year.
Nonfarm Tri-City jobs have grown more than 5 percent, he noted.
The Tri-City economy remains on a strong footing, largely because of Hanford jobs, increasing agricultural exports and a steady population growth.
Schau said the increase in claims may be related to "softness" in the construction industry.
Of the 958 Benton County workers who claimed unemployment benefits for the first time in April, 226 were in construction.
In Franklin County, 79 construction workers added to the total of 606 new claims.
Tri-City building industry professionals say commercial construction projects were down by $11 million in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year.
That had a ripple effect on the wholesale and retail sectors, and it also meant fewer jobs.
About 400 of the new unemployment claims in April were in manufacturing -- an increase of about 25 workers over a year ago.
But Schau said it still doesn't reflect a longterm downswing in the manufacturing sector, which employed about 2,500 workers in the second quarter of 2007.
He also said the area's food processing industry is poised for growth.
And seasonal ag employment is going to increase in the area, said Candice Bluechel, business services manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin.
More than 300 people came through the door in three hours at a recent job fair at WorkSource to meet 26 potential employers.
Todd Dixon, WorkSource's area director for Benton and Franklin counties, said while there's been an increase in the number of laid-off workers looking for help finding a new job, "We're seeing normal fluctuations."
In March, 435 workers who filed for unemployment benefits registered with WorkSource, said Dixon. And in February, 729 workers came to get their resumes updated, meet a job counselor or to get re-trained.
The number of continued claims in Benton County stood at 1,669 and at 996 in Franklin County for March, the latest figures available.
Statewide, the total number of new unemployment claims in Washington was 8,198 on April 19.
And, the latest four-week average of continued claims, which shows whether a worker has found a job or not, was about 23 percent higher than for the same time last year.
But Jeff Robinson, a state economic analyst with Washington Employment Security Department, said, "It's not a large upward trend."
New claims declined from 10,075 in March to a little over 8,000 in mid-April.
Also, the number of continued claims declined from 61,569 in the week ending March 29 to 59,313 in the week ending April 19.
The claims don't reflect the total employment scenario, because they exclude the self-employed, Robinson said, adding that the numbers show a series of spikes and dips in unemployment claims similar to 2005 and 2006.
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