Whatcom County’s unemployment rate increases again, rises above Washington state’s average

Alyse Smith
·1 min read
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Whatcom County’s unemployment rate increased after recent hopeful decreases, with more people unemployed in November than October as Washington state’s unemployment rate also increased.

Whatcom County unemployment

Whatcom County had a 4.3% unemployment rate in November with 4,973 unemployed people in the county, an increase of 220 unemployed people compared to October.

In October, Whatcom County’s unemployment rate was 4.1%, with 4,753 residents receiving unemployment benefits.

In November 2022, Whatcom County’s unemployment rate was 5.2%, 0.9% higher than in November 2023.

Whatcom County’s unemployment rate hit an extreme high of 17.4% in April 2020, and since then has fluctuated.

Since 2020, the county’s unemployment rate had both slight increases and decreases until dropping to a low of 3.1% in May 2023.

Washington state unemployment rates

The Washington State Employment Security Department’s November 2023 monthly employment report found that the state’s unemployment rate increased from October’s 3.8% unemployment rate to 4% in November.

In November, 161,716 people in the state were unemployed, 8,401 more than October 2023, according to the report.

Last November, 183,636 people in the state were unemployed, 21,920 more than November 2023.

Ferry County had the highest unemployment rate in November at 7.8%, and Asotin County had the lowest rate of 3.3%.

All data comes from the Washington State Employment Security Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.