April jobless rate at 8.9 percent for Spokane County

Spokane County’s unemployment rate sat at 8.9 percent in April, according to a report from the Washington State Employment Security Department. The jobless number was nearly a point better than March’s 9.8 percent unemployment rate. But it was just a 0.3 percent lower than the 9.2 percent unemployment rate of April 2011. King County, by comparison has an April unemployment rate of 6.1 percent as big parts of the Seattle economy strengthen. The unemployment rate in Snohomish County was 7.1 percent, though Pierce County was at 9 percent. Washington State’s unemployment rate was 7.9 percent.