Employment in the Tri-Cities grew slightly in August compared to the prior month and the past year, according to the state’s latest jobs data. 

The Washington Employment Security Department recorded 143,383 people being employed in the Tri-Cities metro area in August in its non-seasonally adjusted job figures. Just under 7,000 were claiming unemployment benefits, indicating a 4.6% unemployment rate. 

That was a slight improvement compared to July 2025, when 142,071 people were employed while the unemployment rate was 4.7% with 6,938 people unemployed. 

And the region’s labor numbers are even better compared to August 2024, when there were hundreds fewer employed and nearly 7,300 unemployed for an unemployment rate of 4.9%.