County unemployment rate continues to drop

For the fifth consecutive month, the number of people unemployed in Grays Harbor County has dropped.

The Grays Harbor County unemployment rate fell in June, but it remains among the highest in the state, according to the state Employment Security Department.

Grays Harbor’s 6.2 percent unemployment is down from May’s 6.5 percent and January’s high for the year of 8 percent. However, the seasonably adjusted state (4.7 percent) and national (4 percent) unemployment rates are much lower. The county’s mark is surpassed only by Ferry, Pend Oreille and Pacific counties. Of Grays Harbor’s civilian labor force of 28,320 people, there are an estimated 1,755 people who are unemployed. The post-Great Recession high was January 2010, when 16.3 percent of the workforce was looking for a job.

“A lot of different developments are going on here in Grays Harbor County,” Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. CEO Dru Garson said. Some recent employment growth the county has experienced, Garson said, include expansion of operations for Overstock.com at the Satsop Business Park, an expansion at Quinault Beach Resort and Casino in Ocean Shores, new retail stores opening across Grays Harbor and a wellness center expansion at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Elma.

Garson also mentioned the number of cannabis processors in the county has more than doubled in the past two years.