Whatcom County unemployment dips to 4.7%

Joe Teehan

KGMIData from the Employment Security Department, showing Whatcom County's unemployment rate from January 1990 to May 2019.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Job creation was flat while the unemployment rate was down slightly in Whatcom County last month.

New numbers from the Employment Security Department show that just under 110,000 people were working in Whatcom County in May, about the same as in April.

But the unemployment rate dipped from 5% in April to 4.7% last month.

That’s slightly higher than the rate we saw in May 2018, but the local economy has produced more than 3,000 new jobs over the past year.