Yakima County Bucks National Trends – Region Grows Jobs in 2009

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Yakima County lead the nation in the percent of new jobs created between September 2008 and 2009.  Our County was one of five metropolitan areas in the country that added jobs during this period.  This is especially significant considering the stock market tanked in October 2008 and our national economy went into a nose dive shortly thereafter.

In the Bureau’s report, Yakima County was cited as the only large county (labor force greater than 75,000) in Washington State that added jobs during the period.  By contrast, Snohomish County experienced the largest job losses in Washington State at 6.4 percent.  King County recorded the second largest drop among Washington counties at 6.1 percent.  The US labor market contracted 5.3 percent during the same period.

The Bureau report supports a 2009 forecast by Manpower that suggested that Yakima would have one of the best labor markets in the country during 2009.

Attributed in part to the Puget Sound Business Journal