Unemployment in the Tri-Cities continued its regular seasonal decline in May and more people have jobs than a year ago, but the number of unemployed workers also has grown.

The Washington Employment Security Department reported that 146,587 people were actively employed in the Tri-Cities metropolitan statistical area in May 2026. That’s roughly 2,700 more than in April and a jump of 5,700 people compared to a year prior.

That was enough to drop April’s unemployment rate of 5.3% to 4.9% in May. However, with nearly 750 more people claiming unemployment benefits in the region compared to a year ago, the region saw an increase over the May 2025 unemployment rate of 4.6%

Washington as a whole gained a seasonally adjusted increase of 10,600 jobs in May, the department reported. Of those, 4,800 were in the leisure and hospitality industries, followed by manufacturing with 2,200 jobs and construction with 1,600. Public sector employment gained 1,600 jobs.

This marked the largest one-month surge since December, when 10,100 jobs were added, and last May, when the total reached 10,500 jobs, according to the Washington State Standard. However, even with last month’s surge, the number of jobs in Washington decreased by 7,700 jobs, or 0.2%, since May 2025.

In the meantime, a report issued June 15 by Washington’s chief economist, Dave Reich, says job growth has been weaker than expected since the release of the last revenue forecast in February. He noted initial claims for unemployment benefits were 5,972 in the week ending June 6, up from 5,006 in the prior week.

Gov. Bob Ferguson on June 25 signed an executive order creating a Governor’s Economic Development Council, which includes Columbia Basin College president Rebekah Woods. It comes in the wake of the weaker job growth, as well as recent announcements of Washington-based companies expanding outside the state following increased taxation on businesses by the Legislature.