Sources & References
Metro Job Market Pulse · Yakima, WA MSA · October 2026
Every advertised-pay, job-posting and industry figure in this briefing comes from WageScape's own database of active job postings. The sources below back the external facts cited in the written analysis.
Sources cited in this report
Key Indicators
Washington cut approximately 14,500 jobs in September 2026
Washington Employment Security Department — Statement from labor economist Paul Turek on September job losses
Washington wage growth of 3.1% against inflation of 3.5%
Washington Employment Security Department / BLS — State wage growth vs. CPI comparison
This Month's Takeaways
Education and health services employ 20.7% of Yakima County workforce
Washington State Employment Security Department — Industry employment share data for Yakima County
Gilbert Orchards and Sundquist Fruit filed WARN notices in Washington state
Washington Employment Security Department WARN notices — September 2026 WARN Act filings
Local Economic Conditions
Yakima County unemployment fell from 4.9% to 4.4% between June and July 2026
Washington State Employment Security Department — County-level monthly unemployment data
Yakima County nonfarm payrolls totaled 89,600 in July 2026, down 400 jobs
Washington State Employment Security Department — Monthly county payroll employment figures
How the numbers are calculated
- Advertised pay is the median of the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro. It is not survey or payroll data.
- Percent changes compare the latest six full months with the six months before that, for the same metro and sector.
- Sectors group postings by the employer's industry (NAICS) classification into ten sectors. Where a metro has too few postings in a sector, the state figure is used instead.
- Role pay trends use the same comparison windows. "Stable" means a change of less than 3%; "moderate" 3–10%; "significant" more than 10%.
Official data for comparison