Employment Data for Chelan and Douglas Counties Mostly Positive

Employment data for Chelan and Douglas counties shows that the local economy has moved beyond its pre-COVID pandemic benchmarks.

According to April data from the Washington Employment Security Department, the two-county region (known as the Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical area, or MSA) saw its year-over-year unemployment rate drop by over a full percentage point to 4.6%. Over that same period, Washington State as a whole saw its unemployment rate decline by almost two percentage points to 3.5%.

Both the Wenatchee MSA and Washington State saw their labor market expand by 5.6% from April 2021 to April 2022. Regional Economist Don Meseck said that the continued increase in jobs locally is an indication that the local market has rebounded to levels above the pre-COVID era.

Meseck did identify one area in his monthly report to key an eye on: the Civilian Labor Force (CLF). While the Wenatchee MSA's CLF outpaced the state CLF's growth rate from June through December of last year, the local rapid growth slowed from January through April 2022 and lagged behind the statewide rate. Meseck added that the change is a trend to watch in the months ahead.