Though Lewis County's current unemployment rate is a full percentage point higher than it was during the Great Recession, it's only the ninth highest unemployment rate out of the state's 39 counties.
Matt Matayoshi, executive director of the Lewis County Economic Development Council, told the Daily Chronicle this downturn is different from that of the Great Recession because there are jobs to return to.
Jim Vleming, regional economist for the Employment Security Department (ESD), told the news agency Lewis County's rate was not unexpectedly high or low, but hovered around the expected point during an economic crisis. It appeared that people who commuted outside the county for work fared worse than those who work inside the county.
“I think a lot of people traveling outside of the county to neighboring counties were impacted by the stay-at-home order and the closures, so I definitely think that is more of an impact,” Vleming told the Daily Chronicle.
Some industries, including grocery distribution, housing and manufacturing, have managed to fare the pandemic well.
Alicia Bull, director of the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Chronicle some employers are reporting only two-thirds of their staff coming back to work because they are making more money through unemployment insurance benefits than they would in pay.
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