Chelan Douglas Jobless Numbers Rise in July

The Chelan Douglas unemployment figures for July revealed a slight increase from June to 4.4% in the latest jobless report from the Employment Security Department.

Regional Labor economist Don Meseck's report shows the July figure is also a full 1.2 points higher than July of 2023 and more than a full point higher than the 3.3% result in July 2022.

Meseck is attributing the year-over-year increase to the number of unemployed workers combined with the decrease in the local labor force for the unemployment rising from 3.2% in July 2023 to 4.4% in July 2024

This July, there were 1,942 fewer Chelan or Douglas County residents working or actively seeking employment, a -2.8% downturn from last year in July.

There were also 739 more residents out of work in the two-county report for July compared to last year.

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In the Wenatchee labor market, the 4.4% unemployment rate for 2023 was the lowest annual unemployment rate since 1990

Preliminary estimates indicate that Washington’s monthly unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in July 2023 to 5.1% in July 2024, a one and three-tenths percentage points increase.