Data / Unemployed people / Des Moines, WA

Unemployed people in Des Moines, WA

Unemployed people in Des Moines, WA was 926 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 9.3% from 2024. That is the 33rd highest of 47 cities in 2025.

2025, persons926
Change on 2024+9.3%
Rank33rd of 47Cities in Washington ranked
Series high1,9282020
Series low3511999

Next release: Wednesday, 28 October 2026, 10:00 ET, announced by BLS. Release calendar

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Unemployed people in Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025

05001,0001,5002,000199820022006201020142018202220251998: 369 persons1999: 351 persons2000: 800 persons2001: 997 persons2002: 1,237 persons2003: 1,218 persons2004: 1,032 persons2005: 741 persons2006: 616 persons2007: 534 persons2008: 653 persons2009: 1,485 persons2010: 1,797 persons2011: 1,567 persons2012: 1,338 persons2013: 856 persons2014: 859 persons2015: 769 persons2016: 757 persons2017: 715 persons2018: 667 persons2019: 584 persons2020: 1,928 persons2021: 1,094 persons2022: 767 persons2023: 783 persons2024: 847 persons2025: 926 persons05001,0001,5002,0001998200820251998: 369 persons1999: 351 persons2000: 800 persons2001: 997 persons2002: 1,237 persons2003: 1,218 persons2004: 1,032 persons2005: 741 persons2006: 616 persons2007: 534 persons2008: 653 persons2009: 1,485 persons2010: 1,797 persons2011: 1,567 persons2012: 1,338 persons2013: 856 persons2014: 859 persons2015: 769 persons2016: 757 persons2017: 715 persons2018: 667 persons2019: 584 persons2020: 1,928 persons2021: 1,094 persons2022: 767 persons2023: 783 persons2024: 847 persons2025: 926 persons
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-30.
All 28 values
Periodpersons
2025926
2024847
2023783
2022767
20211,094
20201,928
2019584
2018667
2017715
2016757
2015769
2014859
2013856
20121,338
20111,567
20101,797
20091,485
2008653
2007534
2006616
2005741
20041,032
20031,218
20021,237
2001997
2000800
1999351
1998369

Rankings

Definition

Residents with no job who were available for work and had looked for work in the previous four weeks, or were waiting to be recalled from a layoff, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. The survey definition, not a count of benefit claimants. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average (Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average, Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_unemployed_people_des_moines_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average: Unemployed people, Des Moines, WA, 1998 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/unemployed-people/des-moines-wa.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the unemployed people in Des Moines, WA?

Unemployed people in Des Moines, WA was 926 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 9.3% from 2024. That is the 33rd highest of 47 cities in 2025.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment (measure 04), annual average. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest unemployed people in Des Moines, WA?

1,928 in 2020, the highest value since 1998 in this series.

Unemployed people elsewhere in Washington

Related statistics for Des Moines, WA

All statistics for Des Moines, WA | Des Moines, WA in figures