Total jobs in the Spokane area edged upward in December, while the unemployment rate also rose, according to preliminary data from two reports issued by the Washington state Employment Security Department.

On one report, employment rose to 274,300 jobs in the Spokane-Spokane Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area in December, up 1,100 jobs compared with November, and up 6,900 jobs compared with the year-earlier month.

A separate preliminary report puts the unemployment rate in the Spokane MSA at 5%, up from 4.4% in November, but below the year-earlier jobless rate of 5.2%.

By comparison, employers statewide added 30,600 jobs in all of 2024, a 0.9% increase. The statewide unemployment rate came in at 4.5% in December, down slightly from 4.6% in November, but up from 4.2% in December 2023.