The state Employment Security Department reports that, after eight straight months of decline, unemployment has risen slightly in Grays Harbor County. However, that number remains at historically low levels.

In October, there were 1,712 people unemployed Haborites, the ESD says, or 6 percent of the workforce. That’s up one-half percent from September, when 1,540 people were unemployed. Despite the slight increase, unemployment for the past four months is the lowest since January 1990, which is as far back as ESD’s online records go. In July and August this year, unemployment was 5.9 percent. In September, the rate was 5.5 percent.

The 26,963 people on Grays Harbor payrolls in October was the highest number employed in the county since March 2013, when 27,638 people were employed and there was an 11.4 percent unemployment rate.

On Nov. 14, the ESD reported that the state’s seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate decreased to 4.3 percent in October from 4.4 percent in September. The national unemployment rate in October was 3.7 percent.

In October 2015, the Grays Harbor unemployment rate was 8.2 percent; in October 2016, 7.5 percent; and in October 2017, 6.2 percent.

Nonfarm employment stood at 23,660 last month, up 130 from September. Goods-producing jobs were down slightly in the county in October compared with September but have overall been on the rise since 2015 in mining, logging, construction and manufacturing jobs.

Service-providing jobs continue to employ the most people in the county, and the numbers, while down in October overall, have been trending toward the positive over the past three years, 18,840 in October 2016 compared with 19,450 this year.

Federal government employment in the county has held pretty steady over the past three years, but state and local government employment grew by 460 jobs between September and October of this year, most of those being education positions.