Jan. 22--YAKIMA, Wash. -- The parking lot at WorkSource Yakima was so full that cars had to circle it once or twice to find a spot.

Inside, the job assistance agency was buzzing with activity Wednesday. Some were on computers working on resumes or applying for jobs online. Others were applying for unemployment benefits.

Yvonne Bossert, a 57-year-old Yakima resident, spent her visit browsing job listings posted on brown bulletin boards.

Bossert has become a frequent visitor to the job assistance agency since she was laid off from her hand sander job at Martin Archery in Yakima last August.

She's not alone.

The number of jobless in Yakima County continued to increase in December, according to preliminary figures from the state Employment Security Department.

About 11,630 residents were without jobs in December, compared to 9,120 during the same month in 2007, producing unemployment rates of 9.9 and 7.9 respectively.

Bossert has applied for five to six jobs a week and put her name for job temp agencies in Yakima and the Tri-Cities.

But she has yet to see the fruit of her work.

"Zip, zilch, nada," she said.

While Yakima County's unemployment rate jumped two percent from last December, the rate increase statewide was more dramatic.

The state rate, not seasonally adjusted, was 7.1 percent, up from the 4.8 percent rate it had a year ago.

Seasonally adjusted, which accounts for events such as holiday hiring, the unemployment rate for December 2008 and December 2007 was 7.1 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.

The number of jobless in the state, seasonally adjusted, during the month of December increased 29,300 or 13.2 percent over November's jobless levels, making it the greatest monthly increase since 1976.

Nearby counties showed higher unemployment rates, though they were lower than that of Yakima County. Kittitas County's unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in December while the Tri-Cities was 7.5 percent.

The bright spot in Yakima County continues to be agriculture.

Though agricultural activity is slow in the winter, the county is still experiencing the benefits of a record-breaking apple crop last fall.

Unemployment claims for several agricultural positions in Yakima County in the month of December declined from a year ago, according to state Employment Security data. Claims for packers, for example, declined 22.8 percent.

"The only good news that agricultural employment is helping to keeping the local economy from performing even worse then it is," said Don Meseck, regional economist for state Employment Security.