Total employment in the Spokane-Spokane Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area fell by about 1,400 jobs in November, according to preliminary figures released this week by the Washington state Employment Security Department. 

The data show a total of 282,500 jobs in the MSA last month, down from about 283,900 in October. That bulk of the job losses, about 1,300, occurred in Spokane County. 

Even so, the MSA, which includes Spokane, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties, is up about 5,000 jobs through the first 11 months of the year, according to Doug Tweedy, Spokane-based regional labor economist for the ESD. 

The unemployment rate in the MSA hit 4.1% in November, up from 3.8% the previous month but down from 5.4% in November 2022. For the first 11 months of this year, the average jobless rate was 4.3%.

As the Journal reported earlier this month, the Inland Northwest jobs market has performed better than forecasted this year. Grant Forsyth, chief economist at Avista Corp., said his analysis, which couples Spokane and Kootenai counties, shows 2% job growth this year, after he had projected little or no job growth for 2023. 

For 2024, he's projected job growth of less than 2% in the two counties.