Washington State's jobless rates stood at 6% at the end of August, while the nation's rate was 4.9%. The region appears to be taking its lead from Oregon, which saw its unemployment rate hit 6.3% in August. Barely 12 months ago, Clark County's unemployment rate was a measly 4.6%.

Add in the unemployment rates in the Southwest Washington counties of Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Skamania and Klickitat, and the regional jobless rate spars to 7.2% thanks to a 12% rate in Klickitat and a10.7% rate in Cowlitz.

Things are only expected to get worse in the near future, both in Southwest Washington and the entire state. Georgia-Pacific is expected to eliminate 250 jobs at its Camas paper mill over the next several months, and Boeing has announced up to 30,000 layoffs by the end of the year.