The Washington state Employment Security Department announced today preliminary July employment data that put the Spokane County unemployment rate at 8.1 percent, down from 8.6 percent in July 2012 but up from 7.9 percent in June.
A separate, preliminary state survey said 210,600 people held nonagricultural wage and salary jobs in Spokane County in July, up from 205,900 in the year-earlier month but down from 212,800 in June.
The natural resources and mining sector and the transportation sector each added 1,900 jobs in July compared with the year-earlier month, the most of any sectors. The government sector dropped the most jobs, 700, in the year-over-year comparison.
Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 percent in July, down from 8.3 percent in the year-earlier period and from 7 percent in June.
Total nonfarm wage and salary jobs statewide hit 2,958,500 in July, up from 2,884,600 a year earlier but down slightly from 2,959,800 in June.