Oregon Public Broadcasting

There’s been a big jump in the unemployment rate in Washington State.  Joblessness rose above five percent for the first time in nearly two years.  

The roughly half a percentage point increase corresponds with the size of the May increase in Idaho.  Correspondent Tom Banse has more.

You hear a state’s unemployment rate jumped you naturally assume there must have been a lot of layoffs.

Regional economists say that’s not necessarily the case.

Yes, there’s been some downsizing, especially in retail and construction.  But in Washington and Idaho at least, most of the rise in the jobless ranks is from new people entering the job market.

Labor economist Dave Wallace speculates families are looking for a supplemental income.

Dave Wallace: “The long run trend obviously is toward two wage earners. With everything costing more – gas prices going up, and what not -- people are having a harder time making ends meet.”

In Oregon, unemployment is running slightly higher than the national average. 

Washington remains below, and Idaho lower still, at 3.6 percent.  Washington’s employment department commissioner says “the nation’s economic downturn is finally catching up with us.”