County jobless in double-digits

According to the state Employment Security Department, Skagit County’s unemployment hit 10.8 per cent, well above the state’s 9.2 per cent for March.

Skagit County’s jobless rate was 9.5 percent in February.

ESD said the state lost about 20,000 non-agricultural jobs in March. More than 344,000 Washingtonians reported being out of work last month — almost twice as many as did so a year ago.

The jobless rate leaped in the Seattle metro area, to a seasonally adjusted 8.1 percent, from a revised 7.6 percent in February.