Whatcom County's unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent in June, down from 4.5 percent in May, according to data released by the Washington State Employment Security Department. The decline marked the fourth consecutive month without an increase in the county's jobless rate, though the improvement came with a nuance that economists flag as worth watching: the county actually lost jobs during the period.
What the Numbers Show
The county shed approximately 1,044 jobs from May to June on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. That is a meaningful decline in raw employment. But the unemployment rate fell anyway because the county's labor force, meaning the number of people actively working or actively looking for work, shrank by more than 1,600 people over the same period.
When people leave the labor force, whether because they retired, stopped looking for work, took a leave of absence, or moved out of the county, the pool of workers used to calculate the unemployment rate shrinks. Fewer unemployed people divided by a smaller labor force produces a lower rate even if job creation is flat or negative. This dynamic is a well-known limitation of headline unemployment figures, and it is why economists typically look at labor force participation rates alongside unemployment numbers when assessing the true health of a local economy. A falling unemployment rate driven primarily by labor force exit rather than job gains tells a more complicated story than the headline figure alone suggests.
The non-seasonally adjusted figure of 4.1 percent means that, of every 100 people in Whatcom County's labor force in June, roughly four were without a job and actively seeking one. That is a relatively low rate by historical standards for the county, though it is worth noting that the figure has remained higher than the comparable prior-year number throughout the four-month streak of non-increase, meaning the county's labor market is improved from earlier this year but has not yet returned to the tighter conditions seen in 2025.
How Whatcom Compares to Skagit and the State
Whatcom County's labor market trend closely mirrors what is happening in neighboring Skagit County, which saw its unemployment rate fall from 5.0 percent to 4.4 percent over the same May-to-June period. The parallel movement between the two counties suggests the forces at work are regional rather than county-specific, likely reflecting seasonal employment patterns, agriculture and food processing cycles that affect both counties simultaneously, and broader economic trends moving through the northwest Washington corridor as a whole.
Both counties are performing better than the statewide average. Washington State's overall non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in June, placing Whatcom at six-tenths of a point below the state figure and Skagit at three-tenths below. The Washington State Employment Security Department releases county-level data monthly and tracks these trends through its Labor Market and Economic Analysis division, which also publishes industry-sector breakdowns that reveal which parts of the economy are adding or shedding positions.
What This Means for Residents and Employers
For residents of Whatcom County who are employed, June's numbers suggest a labor market that remains relatively tight, meaning employers still face competition when trying to hire and workers retain some negotiating leverage. For residents who are job-seeking, the declining labor force participation figure is worth noting. It may indicate that some workers have stopped looking because of discouragement about available opportunities, a mismatch between the wages offered and what the cost of living in the county requires, or practical barriers like transportation and childcare that make participation difficult.
Whatcom County's economy draws from a diverse base that includes agriculture and food processing in the Nooksack River flatlands and the Fraser Valley corridor, manufacturing and industrial activity near the Cherry Point refinery and industrial zone, retail and services in Bellingham and Ferndale, higher education employment at Western Washington University and Whatcom Community College, and a growing healthcare sector anchored by PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. That diversity provides some insulation from sector-specific downturns, though it also means the county's employment picture can shift in multiple directions simultaneously depending on which industries are expanding or contracting in a given month.
The county's economic development efforts are coordinated in part through the Port of Bellingham and the Whatcom County Economic Development program, both of which track employment trends as part of their planning and business attraction work. Monthly unemployment data, broken down by industry sector, is available through the state Employment Security Department for residents and businesses that want a closer look at specific workforce dynamics.
The next monthly data release from the Employment Security Department will cover July figures and is expected in mid-August. Given the seasonal pattern of summer employment in northwest Washington, July numbers typically reflect elevated activity in hospitality, construction, and agriculture before fall brings a slowdown in those outdoor and tourism-dependent sectors. Whether the labor force contraction seen in June stabilizes or continues will be an important signal about the underlying momentum of the county's economy heading into the second half of the year.
