About 600 more people in Clark County filed initial unemployment claims last month compared with August of last year.

Almost 3,900 people filed for unemployment in August, according to data from the Washington Employment Security Department. Nearly 3,300 had done so 12 months before.

The data has been volatile, however, said Emily Robertson, regional labor economist for the employment department. July saw just about as many initial claims as July 2024.

Continued claims, filed by people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, meanwhile, have risen both locally and statewide since January.

“This can be a reflection of the difficulty workers are having in finding a job, and the ongoing cooling of the labor market,” Robertson said.

The economist said the county isn’t seeing widespread la

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