2023 Wenatchee Economic Report for April Details Drop in Unemployment Rate

The Wenatchee economic report for April was released, detailing a drop in the regional unemployment rate.

For this year’s April reading, the unemployment rate was recorded at 4.1 percent, decreasing from 4.7 percent a year prior.

The Wenatchee area had fewer unemployed residents this April compared to last April, decreasing from 3,053 unemployed residents to 2,664 unemployed residents. That is approximately a -12.7 percent decrease.

2,300 jobs were added to Wenatchee’s labor pool in 2022, which was a 5 percent increase from the previous year, 1,100 of those jobs being nonfarm jobs.

Wenatchee’s Civilian Labor Force (CLF) has been expanding since June of 2022, increasing 1.8 percent between April of 2022 and 2023, adding 1,167 more residents in Chelan or Douglas counties.

The nonfarm labor market in Wenatchee has been expanding for the past two years, with jobs in retail, state government, and federal government remaining stable. 

Jobs in construction, manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities, health services, leisure and hospitality, and local government all increased from the previous year.

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This past April, roughly 100 construction jobs were added to the Wenatchee valley, providing 3,500 construction jobs to the local labor pool.

Rising interest rates could possibly have an effect on future job growth for construction, however that remains to be seen.

According to Pacific Appraisal Associates’ Real Estate Snapshot newsletter for April, there were 51 fewer closed on single-family homes and condos compared to last year. 

There was also a -18.7 percent dip in closed sales, between Jan. and April of 2022 and 2023, going from 235 to 191 closed sales this year.

Between April of 2022 and 2023, active listings jumped from 57 listings to 113 listings. 

With more homes on the market, home prices also began to decline by -10.2 percent, going from an average $490,000 to $440,000 between that time frame.

Private education and health services jobs increased by roughly 100 jobs, from 8,100 to 8,200 jobs during that time.

Leisure and hospitality continue to bounce back from mass layoffs in 2020, with approximately 200 hospitality jobs being added this year, an increase of 3.1 percent.