Lewis County profile

Posted May 2025

April Highlights

In April, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 5.6% to 5.0% and total nonfarm employment increased by 270 jobs since March.

Summary

Lewis County is a large, centrally located county in southwest Washington. It is a gateway between lumber producing regions and major transportation routes. Wood product manufacturing is a major industry. In recent years, Lewis County has also become a major center of trade, transportation and warehousing. Other major industries include government, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and accommodation and food services.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Lewis County hit a peak of 17.2%. In subsequent years unemployment has improved, though it still tends to be higher than the statewide average.

Location

Lewis County is located in southwest Washington. It is well connected along Interstate 5, and shares borders with eight neighboring counties. These are Grays Harbor, Thurston, and Pierce counties to the north, Yakima to the east, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz and Skamania to the south, and Pacific to the west.

Lewis County ‘s largest city is Centralia. The county is part of the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Area. Visit the Workforce Training & Education Coordinating Board website for information about the 12 workforce regions.  

Employment situation for April 2025

Labor force and unemployment

• The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.0% in April 2025, down from 5.6% in the previous month and down from 5.3% in April 2024.

• The total civilian labor force was 33,656 in April 2025, up from 33,101 in April 2024.

• There were 1,667 unemployed persons in April 2025, 73 fewer than in April 2024.

Unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Local area unemployment statistics

Payroll employment

• Total nonfarm employment was 27,240 in April 2025, not seasonally adjusted. This was up by 270 jobs from the previous month and up by 710 jobs (2.7%) from April 2024.

• Over the year, goods producing industries added 200 jobs (4.2%) and service providing industries added 510 jobs (2.3%)

• The largest increase over the year was in government (190 jobs), followed by leisure and hospitality (160 jobs) and manufacturing (140 jobs).

• The largest decrease over the year was in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (down 40 jobs).

Nonfarm employment estimates, not seasonally adjusted, Lewis County

Note: Data benchmarked through December 2024, updated May 16, 2025. 
Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Washington employment estimates (WA-QB & CES)
Detailed tables can be found on the source page in the third spreadsheet titled Current employment estimates, not seasonally adjusted.

Industry employment (covered employment)

Employment by industry, Lewis County 2023 annual average

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Covered Employment (QCEW)

Average annual covered employment in Lewis County was 27,268 and the average annual wage was $55,149 in 2023. Covered employment refers to workers who received wages in Washington state and are eligible for state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) compensation programs.

Employment is fairly balanced by industry, though the public sector makes up a large part of the economy. Another major sector is in trade (both retail and wholesale) and transportation and warehousing. Together these three sectors make up 6,076 jobs, or about 25% of all employment.

Top five sectors in terms of employment in 2023:

• Government (4,827)
• Health care and social assistance (4,038)
• Retail trade (3,753)
• Manufacturing (3,029)
• Accommodation and food services (2,602)

The top five sectors in terms of wage in 2023:

• Utilities ($138,045)
• Manufacturing ($71,724)
• Finance and insurance ($69,062)
• Professional, scientific, and technical services ($66,076)
• Wholesale trade ($65,010)

Workforce demographics for Lewis County

Employment status varies across demographic groups, with overall labor force participation (55.3%) driven by older workers exiting the workforce. Among the population aged 20-64, men tend to have higher labor force participation (77.7% vs. 65.2%) and higher unemployment (6.3% vs. 4.0%), though women with children under age 6 have the most difficulty finding work at 8.4% unemployment. Workers with less than a high school diploma have a much higher unemployment rate (9.0%) compared to those with a high school diploma or higher. Visit the U.S. Census Bureau website for quick facts about Lewis County.