Cowlitz County, WA jobs, unemployment and layoffs

Cowlitz County’s unemployment rate is 4.0%. No layoff notices here in the last 12 months. 20 open professional jobs are in its cities.

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Cowlitz County economy

4.0%
unemployment, Sep 2026
4.6% the month before
46,732
in the labor force
Source: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
111,539
people in Cowlitz County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$72,932
median household income
Source: Census ACS
30%
of workers in white-collar occupations
Management, business, financial and professional; Census ACS

Where Cowlitz County ranks

Where Cowlitz County placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.

November 2026

#15Counties with the most job centers per unemployed person in the Pacific Northwest5.3 per 10,000 · of 37
#18Fastest-growing job markets in the Pacific Northwest−1.0% · of 23
#22Counties with the most job centers per unemployed person in the West Coast5.3 per 10,000 · of 79
#23Counties with the lowest unemployment in the Pacific Northwest4.0% · of 43
#24Counties where unemployment fell the most in the Pacific Northwest−0.6 points · of 39
#25Counties with the lowest unemployment in the West Coast4.0% · of 86

Cowlitz County outlook: Steady

Built from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census figures. It describes the area, not any one employer in it.

Private-sector jobs down 1.0% from 2022 to 2025
Population up 3.5% from 2020 to 2025
Unemployment 4.0%, down 0.6 points from a year ago
Sectors adding the most jobs: health care (+398 jobs), manufacturing (+321 jobs)
Sectors losing the most jobs: retail (−349 jobs)

Local job-market news

Recent headlines about layoffs, AI and jobs in Cowlitz County. Each link goes to the publisher.

Workers Fearing AI Replacement Show Worse Workplace BehaviorMirage News · Oct 14, 2026
Workers who fear AI replacement show worse workplace behaviorWashington State University News · Oct 13, 2026
Starbucks To Lay Off 51 Employees and Close 5 Stores Across WashingtonLatestLY · Oct 10, 2026

Learn and get funded in Cowlitz County

Which AI skills each kind of job asks for, with the pay premium.
Your local workforce board and American Job Centers: training vouchers and re-employment help.
Grants and funding for job seekers, ranked for your state and situation.
Unemployment benefits by state, if you are between jobs.

Cowlitz County layoffs

No layoff notices naming Cowlitz County in the last 12 months are on file. The WARN Act covers employers with 100 or more workers, so smaller layoffs are not in it.

All layoff notices in the state

Employers hiring most in Cowlitz County

Employers with the most open professional roles in this county’s cities. The county is taken from each job’s city, so roles with no city are not counted.

Albertsons Companies2 open roles
Kaiser Permanente2 open roles
O'Reilly Auto Parts2 open roles
Safeway2 open roles
Solvay S a2 open roles
Alphia1 open role
Bishop Lifting Products1 open role
BlueScope Coated Products1 open role
Eden Health1 open role
International Paper1 open role

Workforce development and job centers

The public workforce board and American Job Centers serving Cowlitz County. They offer free help with job search, training and filing for benefits.

Laid off in Washington? How to file for unemployment in Washington (steps, weekly amount and the appeal deadline).

Workforce Southwest Washington
Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum

WorkSource Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties
Kelso · Affiliate · 360-577-2250
Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Cities in Cowlitz County

Other Washington counties

All of Washington

Laid off or looking for work in Cowlitz County?

See what to do first and the jobs open near you.

See your options after a layoff

Sources: Census Bureau and BLS (county unemployment is not seasonally adjusted); layoff notices from Washington’s published record; job counts from our live job board; IPEDS for colleges; CareerOneStop for workforce boards and job centers. Washington unemployment benefits and severance rules.

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