Promising Job Outlook in Thurston County Bodes Well for Housing

Thurston County's unemployment rate rose from 7.2% from November to 7.6% through December, 2009, but it still remains well below the statewide average of 9.5 and the national average of 9.7%. Potential homebuyers can approach the market with increasing confidence.

There is a bad news/ good news dimension to the statistics, as illustrated by the example of Mark Ritter, 42, of Olympia.  After a 17-year career renting and selling construction-related equipment to commercial and residential building sites, he lost his job in November.

 "A $100,000-a-year job went down the drain," he said. Ritter, a single parent, said he is living off savings and plans to collect unemployment. He is hopeful about finding another job, although he expects to take a cut in pay.

In Thurston County, the total number of job losses has shown signs of improvement. Through the final six months of 2009, the state shed 23,700 jobs, down from 80,000 losses through the first six months of the year, the data show.

Statewide, construction took "the sharpest hit in December, down about 1,900 jobs," according to an Employment Security Department  news release. With any luck, come spring, the better weather will kick-start the construction market, said Jim Vleming, regional labor economist for Lewis, Thurston, Pacific, Mason, and Grays Harbor counties. He added that how much of a change we will witness   remains to be seen.

Compared to other counties in Washington, whose unemployment rates range from 9 to 14 percent, Thurston country is holding its own. According to Best Places, a website that gives information on great places to relocate to, Thurston County has shown an increase in jobs by 1.3 percent. Thurston County has also grown by 13.17 percent since 2000, showing more people find it a great place to buy a home and find a job.

With the jobs on the increase, and a lower unemployment rate than most of the country, Thurston County is a great place to buy a home.  Let me help you put the tax credit to good use!  Give me a call  or visit my Exit Realty Boardwalk site for a look at the best properties in Olympia, Lacey, Shelton, Tumwater, Dupont, Yelm, Rainer, Rochester, or Tenino.