County Unemployment Data for January 2026 Released
Summary
The Washington State Employment Security Department released county-level unemployment data for January 2026. The data includes unemployment rates for all Washington counties, with the department highlighting the North Central and Northwest regions where Chelan County reported 5.7% and Douglas County reported 6.4% unemployment. The department noted these rates are similar to the same period last year and highly seasonal due to the agricultural sector.
“Unemployment rates and employment estimates at the county level are not seasonally adjusted because the sample size is too small for some counties to accommodate the additional analysis.”
What changed
The Washington State Employment Security Department published January 2026 county unemployment rates and employment estimates for all Washington counties. The release highlights the North Central and Northwest regions, noting Chelan County at 5.7% and Douglas County at 6.4% unemployment, similar to levels observed at the same time last year. The department noted the Wenatchee area unemployment rate is highly seasonal due to its large agriculture sector.\n\nEmployers, workforce development agencies, and policymakers can use this data for regional economic analysis. The department explicitly cautions that county-level unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted due to small sample sizes and should not be compared directly to the seasonally adjusted statewide rate. Users should account for this methodological limitation when analyzing or presenting regional employment trends.
Archived snapshot
Apr 20, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
County employment data for January 2026 released
- Data & metrics Released on
April 07, 2026
OLYMPIA – County unemployment rates and employment data for January 2026 are now available on the Employment Security Department website. Visit the labor force page to view historic and current data on the unemployment rate.
Moving forward, for each county employment release, Employment Security will feature a specific region or county in the state. For January, it’s the North Central and Northwest regions.
Mike McBride, regional labor economist for North Central and Northeast Washington, said of his regions, “In January, the unemployment rates in Chelan and Douglas counties were 5.7% and 6.4% respectively. These unemployment rates are similar to the levels observed at the same time last year.”
He added, “The unemployment rate in Wenatchee is highly seasonal, due to its large agriculture sector, and should steadily decrease as we approach the summer months.”
In case you missed it last week, find January’s monthly employment report news release on Employment Security’s website. In the next few weeks, Employment Security will release February and March 2026 employment numbers, catching up from last year’s federal government shutdown and annual data benchmarking.
To learn more about monthly job gains and losses from payroll data, check out the employment estimates on the Employment Security website.
Please keep in mind
Unemployment rates and employment estimates at the county level are not seasonally adjusted because the sample size is too small for some counties to accommodate the additional analysis. Therefore, they should not be compared directly to the seasonally adjusted statewide rate published in the latest Monthly Employment Report.
Employment Security has labor market information and tools to showcase popular information and data.
Learn more about unemployment and the economy for each county by viewing the county profiles. The information in the county profiles is updated within three days of the release of the county unemployment numbers.
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