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OLYMPIA – County unemployment rates and employment data for February 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.
This month we spotlight the Southwest Coastal region. Emily Robertson, regional labor economist for Southwest Coastal Washington, said of her region, “In February, unemployment rates for Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were 6.5% and 7.3%, respectively. This was a slight decrease from this time last year, when unemployment rates were 7.2% and 7.5%, respectively.”
Robertson added, “Employment followed similar patterns. Between February 2025 and February 2026, Grays Harbor County added 310 jobs and Pacific County added 150 jobs, though some industries showed gains while others experienced losses. These coastal counties can see varying employment throughout the year related to the fishing, seafood product manufacturing and tourism industries.”
In case you missed it last week, find February's monthly employment report news release on Employment Security’s website. In the next few weeks, Employment Security will release 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.