Pacific County’s unemployment rate clocked in at just shy of 7% to kick off 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Washington State Employment Security Department last week.

The monthly figures from the state agency estimated that the county’s jobless rate in January stayed steady month-over-month at 6.9%. It’s below the 7.6% mark from January 2024, and the lowest unemployment rate for the month that the county has seen since at least 1990.

Overall, the county unemployment rate ranked 31st out of Washington’s 39 counties in January, better than neighboring Wahkiakum County’s 7.3% and just behind Grays Harbor County’s 6.8%. As usual, Ferry County in the northeast corner of the state had the highest unemployment rate for the month, at 9.4%.

The statewide unemployment rate sat at 4.7% for January, up from December’s 4.3% mark but down from 5% in January 2024. Twelve counties had an unemployment rate at or below 5%, with Asotin and Whitman counties in Eastern Washington leading the way with a 3.9% mark.

An estimated 6,280 people in Pacific County were employed in nonfarm jobs in January, up 0.6% from October and 3.8% from the year prior. The figures exclude farm workers, private household employees, business owners and those employed by nonprofits. It’s the county’s best nonfarm employment mark for the month of January since at least 2000.

The year-over-year gains were led by the county’s sizable government workforce, which was up to 1,910 workers compared to 1,830 in January 2024 — a jump of 4.4%. Another key local sector, leisure and hospitality, saw its workforce swell from 890 to 950, an increase of 6.7%.

Retail jobs were up 2.9% from the previous January, from 680 to 700 workers, while mining, logging and construction jobs increased 4.8%, from 420 to 440 workers. All other local industries saw no or statistically insignificant year-over-year changes, according to ESD’s estimates.