The unemployment rate in Pierce County marked a worrisome increase in October, up to 6.4 percent from a revised 5.8 percent in September, according to regional labor economist Paul Turek.

The statewide rate rose to 6.3 percent from 5.8 percent.

In Pierce County, the goods-producing sector saw the largest decline, down 0.9 percent from September and 3.7 percent from October of 2007. Within the sector, construction employment fell 0.4 percent over the month.

“The downward trend continues,” said Turek. “What’s significant is the change from October ‘07 to October ‘08.”

Turek noted that “our growth has flat-lined out. In September we gained no jobs. That was last month. This month, we’re down 2,700 jobs. That’s a big shift.”

“Consequently,” he said, “we have a pretty significant departure from the unemployment rate this month.”

One bright spot, he said, concerned “a bounce-back in professional and business services, where we added 700 jobs for the month.”

But overall, he said, “I would look at (the employment numbers) as worrisome. What this seems to indicate, we’ve kind of caught the downward trend a little bit more. We knew we were not going upward very quickly. This decline seems to suggest that we don’t have as big of an advantage as we had. It’s getting harder for us to insulate ourselves from national and international conditions.”

All Nippon Airways is reportedly considering opening a new route from Japan to Sea-Tac Airport, industry sources say.

The Japanese carrier, launch customer for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, is considering several cities including Denver, Seattle and Salt Lake City for service with Boeing's new plane.

The Dreamliner, now more than 18 months behind schedule, is smaller than existing jetliners with the range to fly from Japan to the middle of the U.S., potentially opening up new markets not large enough to support a larger long-range aircraft such as the Boeing 747 or 777.

Japan Airlines formerly flew to Sea-Tac from Tokyo but dropped that route several years ago.

Both Northwest (now Delta) and United airlines fly the route to Tokyo now from Sea-Tac.

Tacoma's Multicare Health System will open a new Gig Harbor ambulatory surgery center in January for procedures that don't require a hospital stay.

Those procedures include orthopedic, urological, gynecological and ear, nose and throat surgeries.

"This a big step forward for the Gig Harbor community," said MultiCare Gig Harbor Medical Park Administrator Mary Grubbs.

Multicare is opening its surgery center as its rival, Franciscan Health System, prepares to open the 48-bed St. Anthony Hospital in March in Gig Harbor.

MultiCare has had medical facilities in the Gig Harbor area since 1990. It opened its $51 million Gig Harbor Medical Park in 2007.

Washington callers have escaped learning a new area code, at least until 2012.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission said today that telephone companies say they have enough unused phone numbers in the 360 area code to last a few more years.

The Federal Communications Commission earlier estimated that a new area code would have to be added in 2010 in the territory currently using the 360 area code.

But the UTC worked with phone companies to identify and set aside unused phone numbers in the 360 area. This means that the existing stock of 360 phone numbers will last until at least 2012, the commission said. Once a new area code is added, customers will have to include the area code when dialing numbers in the current 360 territory. That's called 10-digit dialing.

“Introducing new area codes is disruptive and costly to residents and businesses in the state and 10-digit dialing is inconvenient,” UTC Chairman Mark Sidran said in a news release. “We commend the companies for working with us to conserve the existing supply of 360 phone numbers, delaying a new area code as long as possible.”

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