Island County unemployment inches up but remains stable

By Marina Blatt • August 22, 2025 1:30 pm
Labor force by county snapshot by the Employment Security Department.
Labor force by county snapshot by the Employment Security Department.

When it comes to job seeking in Island County, the news remains good.

Despite national concerns about the economy, data from the Employment Security Department shows that the county’s unemployment rate remains stable.

From June to July, the not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 4.2% to 4.5% in Washington, according to the Employment Security Department results released this week. In Island County, the unemployment rate has also increased slightly from the prior month. Not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the county rose from 3.6% in June to 4.3% in July.

In July 2024, the rate for both the state and Island County was 4.7%.

Island County’s unemployment rate for July was lower than those of several nearby counties. Skagit County’s rate was 4.6%, Snohomish County’s rate was 4.5% and Whatcom County’s was 4.5%. San Juan County’s rate is lowest in the state at 3.1%.

Unemployed people are categorized as the estimated number of people who currently do not have a job, are available for work and have actively looked for work in the last four weeks, Paul Turek, a labor economist, stated in July’s Monthly Employment Report. The unemployment rate is calculated by the ratio of the estimated number of unemployed people, divided by the civilian labor force, Turek explained.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 deeply impacted Washington’s labor market, according to the Employment Security Department. During the brief recession, the Washington unemployment rate reached a record high of 14.2%.

For now, Toby Paterson, a North Sound regional labor economist, told the News-Times that Island County is doing well.

“Well, I think Island County and the state are also seeing what I would refer to as peak employment,” Paterson said. “Between the supply of labor and demand of labor, there’s an equilibrium point.”

The workforce is always changing size, he said. At the same time, he added, the dynamic of the labor industry is changing, with new technology, disappearing technology, new businesses and more.

“But when we’re near peak employment, we just have fewer people who are ready to move in to jobs and fewer employers offering jobs,” Paterson explained.

Learn more about Island County’s unemployment rates at esd.wa.gov/jobs-and-training/labor-market-information/reports-and-research/labor-market-county-profiles/island-county-profile.