Snohomish County profile

Learn about Snohomish County's unique labor market information including monthly unemployment and nonfarm employment statistics.

 

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July 2026 highlights

Updated August 2026

Compared to June 2026, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.0% (22,795 unemployed individuals). Employers reported 1,000 more jobs on payrolls (for a total of 310,400 jobs).

Snohomish County's labor market highlights

A dark blue map of Washington state with Snohomish County highlighted in orange.
  • Manufacturing is the largest economic sector in terms of employment in Snohomish County, followed by government and healthcare and social assistance.

Contact Snohomish County's labor economist

Toby Paterson, North sound region

Snohomish County is the only county in the Snohomish Workforce Development Area. Visit the workforce board’s website for information about Washington’s 12 workforce regions.

Snohomish County is part of the three-county Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue MSA and is known as the Everett Metropolitan Division.

Employment updates for July 2026

Changes to the labor force and unemployment

The July 2026 unemployment rate was 5.0% in Snohomish County, 4.5% in Washington state and 4.4% in the United States.

 Measure  July 2026 June 2026 July 2025
 Participant (labor force)  458,524 455,963 460,220
 Employed persons  435,729 433,195 438,631
 Persons seeking work  22,795 22,768 21,589
 Unemployment rate  5.0% 5.0% 4.7%

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

Snohomish County's unemployment rate, January 2024 - July 2026

Snohomish County’s unemployment rate is highly dependent on changes in aerospace parts manufacturing. Note that workers who live in Snohomish County and work in King County affect the unemployment rate in King County.

A chart showing the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Snohomish County from January 2024 to July 2026
 Year Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Legend - a dashed blue line with a diamond representing year 1 in the graph
2024
4.6% 4.5% 4.2% 4.0% 4.0% 4.8% 4.6% 4.4% 4.3% 4.6% 4.3% 3.9%
Legend - a orange line with a square representing year 2 in the graph
2025
4.4% 4.5% 4.5% 4.2% 4.2% 4.7% 4.7% 4.8% 4.9% N/A 5.5% 5.1%
Legend - a dark blue line with a circle representing year 3 in the graph
2026
6.0% 5.7% 5.0% 5.1% 4.8% 5.0% 5.0%          

Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research (LMIR) Division, Local area unemployment statistics (LAUS). BLS canceled October 2025's unemployment publications.

Key changes in payroll employment 

This includes all employees with paid positions tracked in a company’s payroll system. This doesn’t include agriculture jobs or jobs outside of formal payroll such as freelancers, contractors and self-employed individuals. Numbers in this section are estimates generated by a monthly survey.

In July 2026, Snohomish County had 310,400 jobs.

Compared with June 2026, July employment increased by 1,000 jobs.

  • 400 more manufacturing jobs.
  • 500 more professional and business services jobs.
  • 100 more transportation, warehousing, and utilities jobs.

Compared with July 2025, this July’s employment was up by 2,800 (0.9%) jobs.

  • 2,800 (5.0%) more manufacturing jobs.
  • 500 (1.5%) more professional and business services jobs.
  • 100 (1.1%) fewer transportation, warehousing, and utilities jobs.

Employment estimates for Snohomish County

See a snapshot of this month's data below. A detailed spreadsheet titled Current employment estimates, not seasonally adjusted is on the source page of our site.

Total jobs

Industry sector Jul. 2026 Jun. 2026 Jul. 2025 Jun. 2026 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026 %
Total nonfarm 310,400 309,400 307,600 1,000 2,800 0.9%
- Private 268,000 266,400 265,600 1,600 2,400 0.9%
- Government 42,400 43,000 42,000 -600 400 1.0%

Goods-producing jobs

Industry sector Jul. 2026 Jun. 2026 Jul. 2025 Jun. 2026 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026 %
Goods-producing 84,600 83,800 81,600 800 3,000 3.7%
- Mining, logging and construction 26,000 25,600 25,800 400 200 0.8%
- Manufacturing 58,600 58,200 55,800 400 2,800 5.0%

Service-providing jobs

Industry sector Jul. 2026 Jun. 2026 Jul. 2025 Jun. 2026 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026
Jul. 2025 to
Jul. 2026 %
Service-providing 225,800 225,600 226,000 200 -200 -0.1%
- Wholesale trade 8,800 8,800 9,000 0 -200 -2.2%
- Retail trade 34,600 34,400 34,800 200 -200 -0.6%
- Transportation, warehousing, and utilities 8,900 8,800 9,000 100 -100 -1.1%
- Information 3,600 3,600 3,700 0 -100 -2.7%
- Financial activities 12,300 12,300 13,000 0 -700 -5.4%
- Professional and business services 33,300 32,800 32,800 500 500 1.5%
- Private education and health services 42,300 42,600 41,700 -300 600 1.4%
- Leisure and hospitality 32,200 31,900 29,300 300 2,900 9.9%
- Other services 7,900 7,900 10,800 0 -2,900 -26.9%
- Government 42,400 43,000 42,000 -600 400 1.0%

Note: Data benchmarked through March 2026, updated August 20, 2026. The current month’s data is preliminary. Analysts continue to refine past months as more related information becomes available. Industry columns use North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industry titles. Source: Employment Security Department/Labor Market Information and Research Division, Washington employment estimates (WA-QB & CES)

Employment details for industries and sectors

This profile section uses the latest Quarterly Census of Employment and Wage (QCEW) annual averages data.

This quarterly census data includes both agricultural and nonagricultural employment and wages for firms, organizations and individuals with employees covered by the Washington State Employment Security Act. Covered employment refers to the total number of employees with this type of coverage.

Top sectors by employment

2024’s annual average was 297,617 total covered employees.

  • Manufacturing - 55,884 jobs.
  • Government - 41,055 jobs.
  • Healthcare and social assistance - 36,531 jobs.
  • Retail trade - 34,523 jobs.
  • Construction - 24,847 jobs.

Top sectors by wages

2024’s annual average wage was $79,964 for covered employees.

  • Professional, scientific and technical services - $136,655.
  • Information - $125,996.
  • Utilities - $122,132.
  • Manufacturing - $117,339.
  • Finance and insurance - $116,681.

2024 annual average employment by industry

A bar graph showing the 2024 annual average industry employment in Snohomish County

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

Workforce demographics in Snohomish County

Age

Demographic
characteristic
Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
Population 16 years and over  679,525  67.3% 4.5%
16 to 19 years  38,334  37.6% 14.4%
20 to 24 years  44,753  79.6% 7.8%
25 to 29 years  56,037  86.1% 4.6%
30 to 34 years  69,429  83.1% 3.9%
35 to 44 years  132,227  84.1% 4.4%
45 to 54 years  107,174  83.6% 3.1%
55 to 59 years  51,423  78.1% 3.2%
60 to 64 years  55,385  63.8% 3.4%
65 to 74 years  78,292  28.4% 3.7%

Race or Hispanic origin

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
White alone  453,873   65.5%   4.3% 
Black or African American alone  24,704   74.4%   5.8% 
American Indian and Alaska Native alone  6,957   59.7%   7.2% 
Asian alone  92,994   70.9%   4.4% 
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone  3,677   64.6%   4.3% 
Some other race alone  31,951   71.7%   3.4% 
Two or more races  65,369   70.6%   5.6% 
Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race)  69,980   72.6%   4.4% 
White alone, not Hispanic or Latino  442,205   65.2%   4.3% 
Population 20 to 64 years  516,428   80.9%   4.2% 

Sex

 

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
Male  264,405  86.7% 4.0%
Female  252,023  74.9% 4.4%

Females with children

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
With own children under 18 years  92,867  71.0% 4.0%
With own children under 6 years only  23,486  70.2% 4.3%
With own children under 6 years and 6 to 17  years  16,995  58.7% 4.4%
With own children 6 to 17 years only  52,386  75.4% 3.9%

Poverty status in the past 12 months

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
Below poverty level  37,329  42.4% 23.0%
At or above the poverty level  475,019  84.4% 3.4%

Disability status

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
With any disability  52,458  57.3% 8.3%

Educational attainment

Demographic characteristic Total Labor force
participation rate
Unemployment
rate
Population 25 to 64 years  471,675  81.0% 3.8%
Less than high school graduate  32,615  66.1% 4.6%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)  102,874  75.9% 5.4%
Some college or associate's degree  148,668  80.3% 3.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher  187,518  87.1% 3.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024: ACS 5-year estimates, S2301 | Employment Status

Funding

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, expressed or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.