{"id":1968,"date":"2026-08-18T14:23:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/?page_id=1968"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T21:23:46","slug":"aug26_main2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wallawallatrends.org\/newsletter\/aug26_main2\/","title":{"rendered":"Agricultural Changes Mask Net Job Growth in County"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Dr. Kelley Cullen<\/strong><\/p>

Businesses in modern,\u00a0dynamic economies\u00a0regularly\u00a0experience\u00a0employee\u00a0turnover,\u00a0making the tracking of new hires and separations at the county level challenging.\u00a0But because it is so important\u00a0to\u00a0understand what is\u00a0happening with\u00a0the workforce, economists\u00a0are forced to\u00a0rely on more aggregate measures of job creation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Using\u00a0data from the Quarterly Census\u00a0of Employment & Wages (QCEW),\u00a0<\/span>WWT\u00a01.3.3 Net Jobs Created & Annual Growth Rate<\/span><\/a>\u00a0provides a year-over-year comparison of total levels of county employment to help get a sense of\u00a0job gains\/losses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

After four years of steady job\u00a0growth (post-pandemic)\u00a0that had added over 1,200 jobs cumulatively, the county saw a marked drop of over 750 jobs\u00a0in 2025 compared to the previous year, 2024. This\u00a0largest\u00a0single-year\u00a0drop in the number of jobs in the past two decades\u00a0represents\u00a0a 2.6%\u00a0annual\u00a0reduction in total employment across the county\u00a0and brought total employment in the county back to just over 28,000 and below what it was during the recovery of 2021-22.\u00a0In comparison, the state\u00a0saw an increase of 0.25% in total employment\u00a0from 2024 to 2025.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Looking at nearby counties\u00a0reveals that other counties\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0relatively larger\u00a0agricultural sector\u00a0such as Grant, Whitman\u00a0and Yakima\u00a0also saw contractions\u00a0in net jobs,\u00a0whereas\u00a0urban centers such as Spokane, Benton & Franklin\u00a0had\u00a0positive net jobs created\u00a0from 2024 to 2025.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The QCEW data does provide a little more detail in providing disaggregation by\u00a0industrial codes (NAICS). Inspection of the annual data from 2024 and 2025 suggests that the\u00a0greatest loss in jobs occurred in crop production. Specifically, apple orchards reported using\u00a0over 700 fewer county workers in 2025 than the previous year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

While\u00a0retirements and changes\u00a0in land use could certainly be driving some of the loss of\u00a0orchard\u00a0jobs,\u00a0consolidations \/\u00a0acquisitions\u00a0such as the\u00a0absorption of the Broetje Orchards\u00a0(near Prescott) by\u00a0FirstFruits\u00a0Farms\u00a0can be especially problematic for economists to track.\u00a0As the number of firms shrinks, data may be suppressed for proprietary reasons.\u00a0Thus,\u00a0it is\u00a0wholly possible\u00a0that operations are\u00a0ongoing,\u00a0but the number of employees is not being released to the public.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

There is a little bit of good news that can be gleaned from the QCEW data. From 2024 to 2025, the county added over 400 jobs that paid earnings\u00a0that are\u00a025% higher than the previous year\u2019s average annual wage. This\u00a0represents\u00a04% more jobs at higher wages than the previous year. In contrast, the state, on average, saw\u00a0<\/span>fewer<\/span><\/i>\u00a0jobs at 25% higher earnings\u00a0than the previous year\u2019s average annual wage, a loss of -0.5%.\u00a0<\/span>WWT 1.3.7 Net Jobs Created at 25% Higher Earnings<\/span><\/a>\u00a0provides\u00a0more insight into the growth of higher paying jobs around the county.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

While there is hope that the\u00a0loss of jobs in crop production\u00a0last year\u00a0might not be as drastic\u00a0as it looks on paper, employment numbers for the first half of\u00a02026 are looking a bit rocky,\u00a0according to the Local Area\u00a0Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) at the Washington Employment Security Division (ESD).\u00a0Since the start of the year, Walla Walla County has seen a decrease of another 250 jobs\u00a0from January to June of 2026.\u00a0And since the apple harvest is still\u00a06-8 weeks\u00a0out, it is unlikely\u00a0all\u00a0these\u00a0job\u00a0losses\u00a0can be attributed to\u00a0county\u00a0orchards.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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