Which Washington Counties Have The Highest Unemployment Numbers?

It’s sad that you see ‘Now Hiring’ signs everywhere, but stories are still popping up from people striking out left and right.

What gives?

My friend’s family is facing this exact situation.

His wife was let go in December by no fault of her own. Just another faceless victim of the economy we live in.

She was working a basic retail job and had been there for many years but had had no luck getting an interview from any place she applied to.

Many of the businesses aren’t even replying back with a rejection. Which, to me, is the worst: the waiting game to find out if that’s the one or not.

It doesn’t matter whether she’s applied for a job with the possibility of a long career or even a ‘starter’ job; the responses (or lack thereof) are always the same.

Is she applying enough? According to my friend, she’s replying to at least 3 places a week to keep her unemployment.

Child care and the amount of income that is offered are crucial topics she’s looking into when deciding who to apply to.

What are these businesses looking for?

I can’t speak for every place of employment, but knowing where I worked in the past, many companies are looking for part-time employees so they don’t have to pay benefits.

They also want their prospective employee to have no other obligations, so if someone calls in sick, another employee is at the ready to come in.

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I hate that aspect, but I understand it, especially for smaller businesses.

But how bad is the unemployment percentage right now in Yakima County (where I live) compared to the rest of Washington?

Pretty bad! Check out the list:

Washington State Counties With The Highest Unemployment Percentages

#38 (Tie) - Whitman County @ 3.9%

#38 (Tie) - Asotin County @ 3.9%

#37 – King County @ 4%

#36 - Snohomish County @ 4.2%

#34 (Tie) - Clark County @ 4.5%

#34 (Tie) - Pierce County @ 4.5%

#33 - Columbia County @ 4.7%

#31 (Tie) - Thurston County @ 4.8%

#31 (Tie) - Kitsap County @ 4.8%

#29 (Tie) - Whatcom County @ 4.9%

#29 (Tie) - Kittitas County @ 4.9%

#27 - Walla Walla County @ 5%

#27 (Tie) - Island County @ 5.1%

#26 (Tie) - San Juan County @ 5.1%

#25 - Spokane County @ 5.2%

#22 (Tie) - Benton County @ 5.4%

#22 (Tie) - Skagit County @ 5.4%

#22 (Tie) - Skamania County @ 5.4%

#21 - Cowlitz County @ 5.5%

#20 - Klickitat County @ 5.7%

#17 (Tie) - Garfield County @ 5.8%

#17 (Tie) - Mason County @ 5.8%

#17 (Tie) - Chelan County @ 5.8%

#15 (Tie) - Clallam County @ 6%

#15 (Tie) - Jefferson County @ 6%

#14 - Lewis County @ 6.4%

#12 (Tie) - Franklin County @ 6.6%

#12 (Tie) - Douglas County @ 6.6%

#10 (Tie) - Grays Harbor County @ 6.8%

#10 (Tie) - Lincoln County @ 6.8%

#9 - Pacific County @ 6.9%

#7 (Tie) - Okanogan County @ 7.2%

#7 (Tie) - Pend Oreille County @ 7.2%

#6 - Wahkiakum County @ 7.3%

#5 - Stevens County @ 7.4%

#4 - Yakima County @ 7.7%

#3 - Grant County @ 8.9%

#2 - Adams County @ 9%

#1 - Ferry County @ 9.4%

For a full breakdown of unemployment numbers as well as shifts in recent months, Stacker.com.

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