Unemployment continues to increase

Island County's May unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, according to the May 2009 Labor Summary. That means 2,990 Island County residents were out of work and actively looking for it in May, an increase of 80 percent from a year ago.
Snohomish County's May unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, with 36,660 county residents looking for work, according to the May 2009 Labor Summary. Of those, 22,010 were receiving unemployment benefits.
Workforce Explore Washington has labor summaries by county available monthly at www.workforceexplorer.com/article.asp?ARTICLEID=4758.