Reporter's Notebook

MORE JOBS AND MORE UNEMPLOYMENT?

My research this week for a story on the city of La Center’s developing economic plan has me wondering about Clark County’s economic situation, too.

I found in this report that Clark County’s labor force grew 29 percent from 2000 to 2007. That’s quite a bit higher than the Vancouver-Portland metro area’s rate of 15 percent and the state’s rate of 14 percent.

Employment growth in Clark County from 2001 to 2007 was at 16 percent, higher the metro area’s job growth of 6 percent and the state’s growth of 9 percent.
But here’s the kicker. The county’s unemployment rate since 2001 has consistently been higher than averages for the metro area, the state and the nation. In the first quarter of 2008, Clark County’s unemployment rate was close to 7 percent while the metro area’s about 5.6 percent. The state and the nation’s rate was about 5.4 percent.

So now I’m wondering – if Clark County’s labor force has grown 13 percent faster than the job market, what does this mean to you as employers? What do you think it will take to make those numbers match, especially with the economy slogging along like it is?

- Charity Thompson