MOSES LAKE - Grant County's unemployment rate continues to show year-over-year improvements despite a drop in the civilian labor force and the number of nonfarm jobs.

The county had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent in May, compared to a rate of 8.3 percent in May 2013 and 9.2 percent in May 2012, according to the most recent Employment Security Department report. Unemployment rates for January, February, March and April of this year also showed improvement compared to those same months in 2013.

The number of unemployed residents fell from 3,460 May 2013 to 3,050 this May, according to the report. The state's unemployment rate was at 6.1 percent in May.

According to Regional Labor Economist Don Meseck, the state's labor force has been growing for the past four months - a trend that isn't occurring at the county level. Washington's labor force shrank by 0.7 percent in 2013 before expanding by 0.2 percent between February 2013 and February 2014 and 0.4 percent between March 2013 and March 2014.

The labor force stabilized between April 2013 and April 2014 and once again increased between May 2013 and May 2014.

At the county level, the labor force expanded by 0.5 percent in 2013 but posted year-over-year losses in the first five months of this year. Meseck said there were 40,900 residents in the local labor force this May compared to the 41,620 in the labor force last May.

"That's somewhat surprising, because Grant County usually does pretty well," he said. "In the seven-county area I serve, last year Grant County was the only one whose labor force increased on an annual basis."

The good thing however, he said, was that there were fewer residents unemployed this May versus last May.

"The good news is that even though the labor force is down, the number of unemployed dropped more rapidly," Meseck said. "That helped push the unemployment rate down."

Meseck also said there is still a difference in the county's nonfarm employment trends and the state's. Washington has posted year-over-year nonfarm employment increases for the past 44 months, while Grant County's nonfarm employment has been decreasing for the past three months, he said.

In May 2014, Grant County's nonfarm employers provided 28,000 jobs - a 1.5 percent and 430 job decrease from the 28,430 jobs in the county in May 2013.

The leisure and hospitality industry, comprised mostly of hotels and restaurants, went from 2,710 jobs in May 2013 to 2,490 this May. However, the industry experienced a 2.2 percent annual increase in jobs between 2012 and 2013.

"I tend to think of the downturn this May versus last May as more of a temporary condition than a permanent decline," Meseck said. "I tend to think that it's going to rebound."

Transportation, warehousing and private utilities also showed a year-over-year decrease between this May and last - tallying 120 fewer jobs in May 2014, which represents a 12 percent decrease.

Manufacturing increased slightly according to the report, increasing by 10 jobs between May 2013 and May 2014. While that may seem insignificant, Meseck said there is hiring going on in that sector.

The professional and business services sector gained 230 jobs between the two Mays, an 18.9 percent increase. He said temporary placement agency positions are listed in this category, regardless of the industry the job is in.

"So what's happening is some of the 230 jobs could very well be in manufacturing or other industries," Meseck said.