Labor force (LAUS)

View data on how many people are employed and unemployed across Washington and in local areas.

Local area unemployment statistics (LAUS) are monthly estimates of the labor force, including employment, unemployment and unemployment rates statewide, by county and by metropolitan area. Every month, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) surveys households to learn whether residents are employed or unemployed and looking for work. The survey does not count people who have stopped looking for work. We use these survey data to create local unemployment estimates.

Seasonally-adjusted data for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions were updated from January 2010 forward based on revised historical not-seasonally-adjusted estimates and re-fitting of seasonal-adjustment.

Note 3/27/2025: Seasonally adjusted metropolitan area estimates are temporarily suspended. BLS delayed publishing until after implementing new geographic delineations (see ‘Geographic Changes’ here Upcoming LAUS Geography and Data Changes in 2025 : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The publication of seasonally adjusted metropolitan area estimates will likely resume with the April or May release. 

These estimates, along with the 2025 LAUS report publication dates and discussion on alternate measures of labor underutilization, are included in our monthly employment report. For more data and maps at the state and national level, see the BLS animated map and the BLS glossary.

LAUS city estimates, with a population of 25,000 or more, are produced through a disaggregation technique using Census Bureau employment/population data and unemployment insurance (UI) claims counts.

The disaggregation technique is defined as the ratio of population, employment and UI claims counts in a subarea (e.g., city) to the total population, employment and UI claims counts in the larger area (e.g., county). This disaggregation ratio is then applied to the current employment and unemployment estimates for the county to generate city employment and unemployment estimates.

This technique assumes that Census Bureau employment and population data is constant throughout the estimating year for both the city and county area. These estimates will be published monthly with the county numbers starting May 23rd.

Seasonally adjusted

Not seasonally adjusted

Additional reports are available for download in the report library.