The Tri-Cities continues to see the typical seasonal drop in its unemployment rate as the weather warms, but the job market isn’t what it was a year ago. 

The region’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.4% in March 2026, according to the latest jobs data released by the state’s Employment Security Department. That’s down slightly from February’s 5.8% rate but above the 5% recorded in March 2025.  

In raw numbers, nearly 900 more individuals were receiving unemployment benefits in region in March 2026 compared to a year ago.  

The region did see job growth, though. More than 169,000 were listed as employed, compared to more than 165,000 a year ago. 

“Private sector gains remain steady across South Central(/Southeastern Washington), but rising job seekers and continued government losses show the recovery is still uneven,” said Ajsa Suljic, regional labor economist for South Central/Southeastern Washington, in a statement. 

Suljic added, “At the same time, the region continues to show its unique strengths, from Yakima’s national scale agriculture to Klickitat County’s emerging niche in unmanned aerial systems manufacturing sectors. The latter is not widely known but it’s increasingly important to long‑term diversification of the regional job market.” 

The state non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3% in March, down from 5.7% in February but up from 4.9% a year ago.