The Tri-Cities has gained 3,000 nonfarm jobs over the past year.

The latest data, released Tuesday, shows that the area had 98,400 nonfarm jobs last month, up more than 3 percent since October 2008. And that's significant because of continued job losses elsewhere, said Dean Schau, regional labor economist.

"The Tri-Cities has its own cycles of ups and downs. We're definitely in an up cycle since 2000," he said.

The bulk of the job growth in the Tri-Cities from October 2008 to October 2009, was in the professional and business services sector, education and health services and local government, he said.

There was an overall increase of 500 jobs in October in the Tri-Cities -- there were 97,900 nonfarm jobs in September -- in part because of an increase in hiring by local school districts, Schau said.

In contrast, Washington statewide had 120,000 fewer jobs last month, a decline of 4.1 percent compared with October 2008. Nationally, jobs declined 4 percent during the same period.

A recent national survey said the Tri-Cities is one of 10 communities nationwide to have seen job growth in the last six months, said Gary Ballew, Richland's economic development manager.

Most local manufacturers are holding on their own despite disruptions in the national supply chain, he said. Also, the most recent data shows retail sales in Richland are at the same level as last year, though retail sales tax revenue from construction is down a bit, he said.

The slowdown in construction has more to do with a credit freeze instead of lack of local demand, Ballew said. "The Tri-Cities is not a bad spot to be in," he said.

The latest data doesn't surprise Carl Adrian, president and chief executive officer of the Tri-City Development Council. Stable jobs in energy production, food processing and at Hanford have kept the economy buoyant, he said.

He said federal stimulus dollars have fostered job growth, which in turn has kept local housing and retail industries relatively strong in the community.

But there's a potential for a minor decline in employment when stimulus money goes away, Adrian warned.

"We've to be mindful that we've got a little bubble going on right now. We should be careful we don't overextend," he said.

Over the year, employment declined in financial services, retail, leisure and hospitality and food services, Schau said. Last month, construction and food services lost 100 jobs each. The drop in food services may be related to the return of temporary student workers to school full-time, he said.

A decline of 200 jobs in the trade and warehousing sector last month was because of a seasonal slowdown in agri-processing business, he said. The sector's 16,500 jobs have remained stable since October 2008, he said.

Food processing and manufacturing, together with agriculture, have helped equip the community to deal with the downturn better than other areas, Schau said.

People are coming to the Tri-Cities to look for work, which makes job hunting more challenging for the unemployed, he said.

The number of unemployed workers in Benton and Franklin counties increased from 7,660 in September to 7,760 last month, bumping up the October unemployment rate to 5.9 percent. Last month, the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent and a year ago, it was 4.8 percent.

In October, Washington's unemployment rate increased to 9.3 percent in October, from 9.1 percent in September. Clark County had the state's highest unemployment rate of 13.7 percent and Pullman had the lowest at 4. 4 percent last month, when the national unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent.

w Pratik Joshi: 582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com; Business Beat blog at www.tricityherald.com

Franklin County's population has grown faster by percentage than any other county in the state since the 2000 census, according to new estimates by the Washington State Office of Financial Management.

Pasco and Kennewick also are among the state's 10 fastest-growing cities based on numbers of residents, and Richland ranked 16th out of 279 cities and towns.

State population growth overall is slowing, according to the estimates, which are prepared annually. The state's population is estimated to have increased by 1.2 percent to 6,668,200 in the last year compared with a peak growth in recent years of 1.9 percent in 2006.

Migration into the state is driven by job opportunities, and Washington's economy remains more attractive than California or Oregon, the states that traditionally have had the most residents moving to Washington. But population gains statewide due to migration still have dropped from 81,000 in 2006 to 39,000 in 2009, said Theresa Lowe, Washington's chief demographer, in a statement.

"Many job seekers are finding it difficult to sell their homes or to relocate to accept employment at the price of paying two mortgages for an extended period," she said.

Franklin County's population has grown 47.3 percent since the 2000 census, making it the fastest growing based on percentage change, the new estimates said. It's estimated to have 72,700 residents, up from 49,347 in 2000. Births accounted for more new residents than people moving into the county.

Benton County has grown from 142,475 people in 2000 to an estimated 169,300, with people moving into the county slightly outpacing births. Benton County ranked fifth in the state.

Pasco is the state's fourth-fastest-growing city based on number of increased residents. Its population increased from 32,066 in 2000 to a current estimate of 54,490. That included 1,769 new residents who live on property annexed into the city.

The fastest-growing city was Seattle, followed by Renton and Auburn, which both had at least half of their population increase attributed to annexation.

Kennewick ranked eighth in the state, with its population growing from 54,751 to an estimated 67,180. More than a third of the increase was based on annexation.

Richland grew from 38,708 residents to an estimated 47,410 people with just 35 new residents from annexation. West Richland ranked 39th, with its population increasing by 3,285 people since 2000 to an estimated 11,670.

Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear may have moved into his new job in January, but finding a house in his new city has been more of a challenge.

Gear, formerly the chief of Benton Fire District 1, and his wife Rhonda easily sold their old house in Kennewick earlier this month. But because of a dwindling housing inventory they're having a hard time finding a new home in their price range.

"I thought we'd have trouble selling and it would be a buyers' market," Bob Gear said. "It's exactly the opposite of what I expected."

Tri-City real estate agents are reporting that homes priced at less than about $325,000 are selling fast and inventory is dropping.

"If we list a nice property under $250,000, we're seeing it sold within 30 days," said Dave Retter, designated broker and co-owner of Windermere Tri-Cities. "If we list a home under $150,000, and it's a nice home priced in the market, we're seeing it sold in 10 days."

In a balanced market -- meaning it would take about six months at a similar sales rate to sell the current inventory if no new homes came on the market -- such homes take an average of 60 days to sell, Retter said.

Gear said his Kennewick home sold for $248,500 in 24 days and had two other offers.

"It's a sellers' market," he said.

The couple are looking for a three- to four-bedroom rambler in west Pasco with a three-car garage or a shop, he said, priced between $200,000 to $300,000.

They've found a few they like recently, but the homes went under contract before the Gears were able to make a move.

Their agent, Jennifer Ralston of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Associated Brokers in Kennewick, said there are only a handful of homes that meet those specifications.

"We don't even have a month's (supply)," she said.

Another set of buyers, Laura and Jon Strycker of Pasco, also had a hard time finding a house to meet their needs.

The couple, who have two young daughters, had been renting an apartment and started thinking about buying their first home last summer.

They wanted three bedrooms and two bathrooms with at least 1,200 square feet of space, Laura Strycker said.

And they didn't want to spend more than $135,000.

They got serious about their hunt last fall and put in an offer on a house only to find out another buyer had outbid them.

So they kept looking.

The couple finally found the right house in December and closed in January, taking advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

"Houses were either out of our price range ... or smaller than we preferred," she said.

There were 161 homes priced at $100,000 to $150,000 on the market as of June 10, Retter said, less than half the 332 in the same price range on the market at the same time last year.

And in the $150,000 to $200,000 range, there were 193 homes listed for sale as of June 10, compared with 278 a year ago, he said.

He and other agents attribute the shrinking availability of homes in lower price ranges to tighter lending for new construction.

"We're not continuing to put units up as our population continues to grow," said Paul Roy of Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Associated Brokers. "We're seeing that in our dwindling inventory."

Doug Bayne, vice president and director of marketing for Banner Bank, said the bank has seen a slowdown in applications for residential home construction loans.

But Banner is making $10 million in loans for spec homes in June across its coverage area of Washington, Idaho and Oregon, he said.

"Of all the market areas we're in, the Tri-Cities continues to be one of the more strong areas," Bayne said.

Steve Hall found the Tri-Cities by chance more than two years ago while looking for a place to relocate his Seattle manufacturing business.

Cheap land, the low cost of construction and affordable housing and a UPS freight schedule that fits his needs prompted Hall to move his business to the Port of Benton's Industrial Park in Benton City.

It's not surprising if you looked at the latest ACCRA Cost of Living Index, which tracks cost of living trends nationwide. The Tri-Cities continues to be the least expensive place to live compared with other metropolitan areas in the Northwest.

Hall soon expects to start making about 400 different kinds of printable materials for labels at his new building that'll be dedicated June 11, said Hall, who owns Rippedsheets.com and Wristbandfactory.com.

Two of his 12 former employees, who came from the west side to continue working for him in Benton City, were bowled over by the low cost of living, Hall said. "It's like getting a raise, they said," recalled Hall, who pays above-average wages to his workers.

In the first quarter of 2009, the Tri-Cities had a ACCRA index composite rating of 88.6, compared with Spokane's 91.2, Yakima's 99.4 and Seattle's 125.7.

The index, compiled by Arlington, Va.-based C2ER, the Council for Community and Economic Research, measures relative price levels of groceries, housing, health care, utilities and transportation in more than 300 metro areas across the nation.

Volunteers in different metro areas supply the price data quarterly to the organization, which has experts analyze various price samples and population samples to determine average costs, said Erol Yildirim, director of data products at C2ER.

The cost of living index often is used by businesses to relocate to new areas or to recruit employees, Yildirim said. There are a more than 1,000 subscribers to the index, which has been published since 1968, he said.

The Tri-Cities' low cost of living and high quality of life are often touted by recruiters at Kadlec Health Systems to attract quality talent, said Kadlec spokesman Jim Hall.

Since the beginning of the year, Kadlec has hired 156 employees, including nurses, therapists, lab workers and other support staff, and six physicians and signed up 12 more doctors who are expected to join Kadlec soon.

They've come from all over the country including the Northwest, the East Coast and Hawaii, Hall said. Stability and the growth of the local economy plus career opportunities at Kadlec definitely play a role in their decision to make the Tri-Cities home, he said.

Cost of living is an important consideration for potential employees coming to work at Hanford, said Becky Smith, a human resource specialist at CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.

The company looks nationwide to hire professionals that include, among others, scientists, engineers and project managers for jobs with annual salaries ranging from $45,000 to $120,000.

People moving from Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York or any big metropolitan area may immediately notice the benefits of the lower cost of living in the Tri-Cities, said Harry Lacher, human resources director for CH2M Hill. But potential new employees also are told about the recreational opportunities in the area, the wine industry and a relative absence of traffic congestion, he said.

Many CH2M Hill workers come to the Tri-Cities because they are excited about the Hanford project, said company spokeswoman Dee Millikin. CH2M Hill, a global full-service engineering, procurement, construction and operations firm, also is listed in Fortune's 12th annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, she said.

Greg Vierra, one of six co-owners of NAI Tri-Cities Commercial Real Estate, said he and his wife moved to the Tri-Cities from Salinas, Calif., last year "because of affordability."

When someone offered Vierra's wife, who's a doctor, a job at Kennewick General Hospital, Vierra said they decided to check it out and promptly fell in love with the area.

Quality of life was a big factor in their decision to relocate, he said. "Houses in the Tri-Cities are not built on top of each other like in California," Vierra said.

The Columbia River, easy access to Seattle, Portland and Spokane, and an airport with many direct flight to several major markets helps to make the Tri-Cities an enviable place to live, he said. And the stability of the economy and housing market make it an especially attractive location for manufacturers, Vierra said, adding the presence of a skilled work force is a bonus.

People come to the Tri-Cities to shop from a 100-mile radius, he said.