BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Whatcom County’s unemployment rate is slowly ticking up.

The state Employment Security Dept. says that 5.7% of the county’s workforce is without a job as of January. That’s slightly higher than the state average of 4.6%, which also increased slightly from December.

Unemployment has been steadily increasing in Whatcom County since last summer’s historically low rate of 3.1%.

However, the most recent numbers are consistent with pre-pandemic unemployment rates. Between March 2015 and March 2020, Whatcom County’s unemployment rate fluctuated within the 4-6% range.