Chelan-Douglas Region Continued Its Recovery in October

The Washington State Employment Security Department released its official October numbers for the Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

According to the report, the two-county area's unemployment (not seasonally-adjusted) fell 1.7% year-over-year to just 3.7%. The number of unemployed residents in the Wenatchee MSA plunged from 3,553 in October 2020 to 2,446 in October 2021, a decrease of 31.2%. Statewide, October's unemployment rate was 4.4%.

The Wenatchee MSA's economy lost 6.2% of its jobs during 2020. The data shows the MSA is continuing its comeback, although the results may seem meager to some. Since to October of 2019, the MSA has gained 300 jobs overall, a 0.6% increase.

Regional gains in employment were largely fueled by the construction and hospitality industries. Leisure and hospitality accounted for about 55% of the area's layoffs during the pandemic. Since October 2020, the industry's employment is up more than 22%. Meanwhile, construction jobs have expanded in every month this year and are up 10% year over year.

The poorest-performing sector by far was state government jobs, which fell by 7.7% year over year.