Snohomish County unemployment reaches 5.1%

Published 5:30 am Thursday, January 22, 2026

EVERETT — Unemployment has reached 5.1% in Snohomish County, the highest number in more than three years, according to the chief labor economist for the Washington State Employment Security Department.

The 5.1% unemployment rate in November 2025, the latest month for which data was available, is the highest since September 2022, according to state economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman.

Along with the increased unemployment rate came a small trickle of job growth of 300 workers in Snohomish County between November 2024 and November 2025, Vance-Sherman said.

That’s because of the number of Snohomish County residents who work in the tech sector in King County, a sector that saw rounds of layoffs in the last year.

Vance-Sherman said the state counts unemployment by the county where a laid-off person lives, not by the county where they worked.

Joy Emery, president and CEO of Workforce Snohomish, said that U.S. census data from 2023, the most recent data, shows that around 40% of workers in Snohomish County have jobs in King County.

Tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, T-Mobile and Oracle have cut thousands of jobs in King County between November 2024 and November 2025, show filings with the State Employment Security Department.

Employers who aren’t reducing their workforce aren’t doing a lot of hiring either, Vance-Sherman said. She said that job growth in Snohomish County and the rest of Washington State has been under 1% in 2024 and 2025.

State statistics show the unemployment rate had been slowly inching up each month in 2025. It started at 4.2% in January, and by September it reached 4.9%. No data was available for October because of the federal shutdown. The state uses federal statistics for its unemployment report.

Aviation manufacturing was the biggest sector for job losses within Snohomish County, according to the state data. It shows 1,600 positions were lost between November 2024 and November 2025.

Boeing laid off 1,422 employees at its Everett factory complex between late December 2024 and the end of February 2025, according to a Daily Herald analysis of state employment data.

The layoffs were part of a worldwide employee reduction program announced by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg on Oct. 11, 2024, in the midst of the Boeing machinists strike. Ortberg had announced a 10% reduction in Boeing’s worldwide workforce as part of a plan to restore the company to profitability after more than $30 billion in losses since 2018.

Emery said that while the Boeing layoffs were part of the total aviation job losses, the company has been hiring, particularly for factory workers, during the same period. She said the job losses in aviation are likely attributable to a variety of aerospace companies in the county.

Vance-Sherman said aviation manufacturing jobs account for 35,690 jobs or 12% of the workforce.

Between November 2024 and November 2025, the private education and health care sectors gained 2,400 jobs to 42,300 positions.

She said increases in health care employment help drive those numbers up, noting the graying of the population means increased medical visits that help drive employment for medical positions.

Retail businesses also saw a small increase in jobs in Snohomish County, up 400 to 35,100 over the 12-month period, according to state data.

But restaurants and bars and the leisure and hospitality sector saw job losses.

Food and bars saw a loss of 500 jobs to 22,400 positions between November 2024 and November 2025 while leisure and hospitality saw a reduction of 700 jobs to 27,100 positions.

“People are not going out to eat as much because of economic concerns,” said Vance-Sherman, which results in establishments reducing positions.

Emery said the hospitality industry has been affected by a variety of factors, including people traveling less due to the uncertain economy and fewer Canadians visiting Snohomish County.

Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com.