Employers in the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area have added about 1,900 jobs in a 12-month period ending in July, preliminary data from the Washington state Employment Security Department show. 

Employment in the MSA, which includes Spokane, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties, totaled about 276,100 people last month, up from about 274,200 in the July. 

While the year-over-year jobs numbers increased, total employment was lower in July than it was the previous month. In June, total employment nearly hit 279,900.

The overall labor grew at a greater rate than jobs, the data suggest, which caused an increase in the unemployment rate in the MSA. The July jobless rate rose to 4.8%, up from 4.2% the previous month and a full percentage point higher than it stood in July 2023. 

The statewide jobless rate has increased at a faster pace, to 5.1% in July from 4.7% the previous month and 3.8% the previous July.