Another good news/bad news employment report for Chelan and Douglas Counties, also known as the Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. That's the word from Regional Labor Economist Don Meseck, as the July numbers show a 2-point-9 percent unemployment rate. That's down from last July's 3-point-five percent. It's a historically low number, one that caught Meseck by surprise:
But what helped was the startling drop in the jobless rate:
What concerns Meseck most in the future are two things: one, the high interest rates which has essentially put the kybosh on new construction in the area; but also the declining growth rates in industry employment:
It should be noted that while the focus is on year-over-year statistics, the unemployment rate in the Wenatchee MSA showed a slight increase from June's 2-point-8 percent.