Island County labor force grows, unemployment rises to 4.7 percent
Island County added 486 workers in a year, but unemployment still rose to 4.7 percent. Construction is climbing while leisure and hospitality lag 7.5 percent.
Island County added 486 workers over the past year, lifting its labor force by about 1.4 percent, but the county’s unemployment rate still rose to 4.7 percent in May 2026. Regional labor economist Toby Paterson sees growth that is real, but uneven, with more people entering the job market than employers are absorbing right away.
Construction has been one of the clearest bright spots. Employment in the sector was up nearly 10 percent in 2026, and single-family home sales rose 20 percent in the first quarter after dropping the year before.
Leisure and hospitality employment was 7.5 percent below last year’s level, despite a small recent improvement. Paterson pointed to higher prices and weaker cross-border travel from Canada as drags on tourism, which hits island counties harder than inland markets.
Regional labor economist Toby Paterson pointed to increased military activity around Oak Harbor as a draw for civilian support workers and their households, while population growth and retiree in-migration are expanding the labor pool faster than employers can take it in. In March 2026, the civilian labor force in Island County stood at 35,805.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Island County’s population at 85,657 on July 1, 2025, down from 86,478 a year earlier. It also estimated that 30.4 percent of residents were 65 or older, and counted 9,905 veterans, 43,774 housing units and a median owner-occupied home value of $593,300.
Washington’s Employment Security Department put Island County’s April 2026 unemployment rate at 5.0 percent, compared with 5.1 percent statewide and 4.0 percent nationally. Island County is in the Seattle-Tacoma Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s Human Resources Office provides civilian employment assistance and coordinates military-spouse volunteer, student volunteer and veteran employment programs. The Economic Development Council For Island County serves as the county’s designated partner with the Washington State Department of Commerce.
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