1. “Thurston jobless hits 8.5 % for June”

Rolf Boone reports in The Olympian:
“Thurston County shed jobs for the second consecutive month in June, increasing unemployment to 8.5 percent from 8 percent in May, although some of those June job losses were tied to seasonal cuts in education, according to state Employment Security Department data released Tuesday [July 26].

The lack of hiring in construction typically a big employer in the summer has Vleming [regional economist Jim Vleming] concerned about the local economy as it moves closer to fall and winter, a time of slower job growth, he said.”