Counties with the highest unemployment in Washington
Counties with the highest unemployment in Washington
While today's unemployment rates are significantly lower than the COVID-19 pandemic peak of 14.7% experienced in April 2020, the fear of job losses remains as workers stare down an uncertain economic future.
Stacker compiled a list of counties with the highest unemployment rates in Washington using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Counties are ranked by their preliminary unemployment rate in February 2024, with initial ties broken by the number of unemployed people within that county, though some ties may remain. County-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted.
Experts are mixed in their views of a potential recession. The return of student loan payments, continually high gas prices, persistent inflation, and insurance price escalations are just a few of the factors that could limit consumer spending and potentially prompt another recession.
The last economic recession before the pandemic—the Great Recession of 2007-09—sent unemployment rates up to 10% as of October 2009, and a full recovery took years.
But as of March 2024, the national unemployment rate remains relatively low at 3.8%—down slightly from the previous month. Regional and state employment varies widely depending on local economies. Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates by state demonstrate a rather sizable spectrum, ranging from just 2% in North Dakota to 5.3% in California.
Read on to see the counties with the highest unemployment in Washington.
#39. King County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.2%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1.4 million people (56,728 unemployed)
#38. Snohomish County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 4.3%
--- 1-month change: Down 0.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 1.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 459,693 people (19,932 unemployed)
#37. Asotin County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 10,682 people (538 unemployed)
#36. San Juan County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 5.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.4 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,059 people (458 unemployed)
#35. Kitsap County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 129,533 people (7,821 unemployed)
#34. Thurston County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 151,510 people (9,194 unemployed)
#33. Clark County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 244,459 people (15,373 unemployed)
#32. Island County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 37,103 people (2,366 unemployed)
#31. Whitman County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,351 people (1,507 unemployed)
#30. Walla Walla County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 29,887 people (1,941 unemployed)
#29. Whatcom County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 114,530 people (7,433 unemployed)
#28. Spokane County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 267,060 people (17,407 unemployed)
#27. Benton County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.6%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 106,087 people (7,049 unemployed)
#26. Chelan County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 43,915 people (2,976 unemployed)
#25. Pierce County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 457,015 people (30,962 unemployed)
#24. Skagit County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 6.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 61,628 people (4,233 unemployed)
#23. Skamania County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,474 people (388 unemployed)
#22. Columbia County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 1,734 people (127 unemployed)
#21. Cowlitz County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 48,273 people (3,507 unemployed)
#20. Jefferson County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 12,449 people (920 unemployed)
#19. Douglas County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 21,584 people (1,614 unemployed)
#18. Adams County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.7%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,198 people (704 unemployed)
#17. Klickitat County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 9,491 people (744 unemployed)
#16. Kittitas County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.7 percentage points
- Total labor force: 23,915 people (1,872 unemployed)
#15. Clallam County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 29,184 people (2,287 unemployed)
#14. Lewis County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.7 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 34,926 people (2,710 unemployed)
#13. Lincoln County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 7.9%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 4,637 people (367 unemployed)
#12. Mason County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.1%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.8 percentage points
--- 1-year change: No change
- Total labor force: 25,317 people (2,061 unemployed)
#11. Garfield County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 761 people (63 unemployed)
#10. Pacific County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.1 percentage points
- Total labor force: 8,455 people (713 unemployed)
#9. Franklin County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.0 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.4 percentage points
- Total labor force: 43,335 people (3,686 unemployed)
#8. Grant County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.5%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 47,645 people (4,045 unemployed)
#7. Grays Harbor County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 8.8%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.5 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 29,549 people (2,590 unemployed)
#6. Okanogan County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.5 percentage points
- Total labor force: 18,710 people (1,691 unemployed)
#5. Yakima County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.0%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.6 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 128,622 people (11,518 unemployed)
#4. Pend Oreille County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.3%
--- 1-month change: Up 0.9 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.2 percentage points
- Total labor force: 5,261 people (489 unemployed)
#3. Wahkiakum County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.1 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Up 0.8 percentage points
- Total labor force: 1,358 people (128 unemployed)
#2. Stevens County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 9.4%
--- 1-month change: Up 1.3 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.3 percentage points
- Total labor force: 19,622 people (1,840 unemployed)
#1. Ferry County
- February unemployment rate (preliminary): 13.2%
--- 1-month change: Up 2.2 percentage points
--- 1-year change: Down 0.9 percentage points
- Total labor force: 2,316 people (306 unemployed)
This story features data reporting by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.
