{"h1":"Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Pacific Northwest","faq":[{"a":"Deschutes County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Pacific Northwest, with a score of 68 / 100.","q":"Which county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in the pacific northwest?"},{"a":"10 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 10 entries.","q":"How many counties are ranked?"},{"a":"A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.","q":"How is the ranking calculated?"},{"a":"Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.","q":"How often is it updated?"}],"lead":"Deschutes County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Pacific Northwest, with a score of 68 / 100.","minN":100,"rows":[{"n":100,"bar":1,"key":"41017","sub":"OR","href":"/places/oregon/county/deschutes-county","name":"Deschutes County","rank":1,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.8 points"}],"value":67.77777777777777,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"68 / 100"},{"n":843,"bar":0.9836065573770492,"key":"41051","sub":"OR","href":"/places/oregon/county/multnomah-county","name":"Multnomah County","rank":2,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"4"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−1.0 points"}],"value":66.66666666666666,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"67 / 100"},{"n":133,"bar":0.9508196721311474,"key":"53005","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/benton-county","name":"Benton County","rank":3,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"4"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"2"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.3 points"}],"value":64.44444444444443,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"64 / 100"},{"n":8591,"bar":0.8688524590163935,"key":"53033","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/king-county","name":"King County","rank":4,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"13"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"5"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"+0.0 points"}],"value":58.88888888888889,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"59 / 100"},{"n":436,"bar":0.7868852459016394,"key":"41067","sub":"OR","href":"/places/oregon/county/washington-county","name":"Washington County","rank":5,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"3"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"1"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−1.1 points"}],"value":53.33333333333334,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"53 / 100"},{"n":179,"bar":0.7377049180327869,"key":"53063","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/spokane-county","name":"Spokane County","rank":6,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"4"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.4 points"}],"value":50,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"50 / 100"},{"n":132,"bar":0.6229508196721313,"key":"41039","sub":"OR","href":"/places/oregon/county/lane-county","name":"Lane County","rank":7,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"3"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−1.0 points"}],"value":42.22222222222223,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"42 / 100"},{"n":174,"bar":0.5901639344262296,"key":"53011","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/clark-county","name":"Clark County","rank":8,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"1"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"−0.5 points"}],"value":40,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"40 / 100"},{"n":371,"bar":0.4262295081967213,"key":"53061","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/snohomish-county","name":"Snohomish County","rank":9,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"2"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"1"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"+0.0 points"}],"value":28.88888888888889,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"29 / 100"},{"n":241,"bar":0.4098360655737706,"key":"53053","sub":"WA","href":"/places/washington/county/pierce-county","name":"Pierce County","rank":10,"stats":[{"label":"Openings per 100 unemployed","value":"1"},{"label":"American Job Centers","value":"4"},{"label":"Change in unemployment over a year","value":"+0.0 points"}],"value":27.77777777777778,"change":null,"employers":[],"valueLabel":"28 / 100"}],"slug":"best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-pacific-northwest","unit":"openings","scope":{"id":"pacific-northwest","kind":"region","name":"Pacific Northwest"},"title":"Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Pacific Northwest","family":"Best overall","method":["A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.","Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.","Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked."],"builtAt":"2026-11-04T03:37:37.436Z","edition":"2026-11","measure":"claidoff","sources":["NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county","Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages","CareerOneStop American Job Center directory"],"baseline":null,"keyFacts":["#1 Deschutes County, OR: 68 / 100","#2 Multnomah County, OR: 67 / 100","#3 Benton County, WA: 64 / 100","10 counties ranked in the Pacific Northwest","Data as of November 2026"],"placeNoun":"counties","commentary":["The lead is wide: Deschutes County (68 / 100) is well clear of Pierce County at #10 (28 / 100).","Deschutes County reaches #1 on a sample of 100 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.","King County is the largest market in the top ten, with 8,591 openings behind its figure.","Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful."],"license":"Free to use and share with a link to https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-pacific-northwest"}