Based on a series of surveys conducted during the months of September through the end of October 2025, the most cited main reason why people aged 25–54 years in Grays Harbor and Pacific County (Washington) are experiencing high-than-expected unemployment is due to a lack of available childcare.

The Recompete Project is an EDA-funded project designed to identify the causes of, and provide resources to address, higher-than-expected unemployment in areas where the prime age employment gap (PAEG) for the 25–54 years of age population is significantly higher in Grays Harbor and Pacific County (Washington) than other areas of the state. The lack of specific data on the reasons why this population has been experiencing chronic unemployment has not been studied prior to this project. The main reason cited by the PAEG population for not being able to find work was a lack of available childcare. This finding suggests that higher than expected unemployment will continue to be a problem unless this significant barrier is addressed. The other issues that were noted by tis population as barriers to employment included the person lacking the experience needed for a given position, the need for more lenient and understanding pregnancy, nursing, or maternal leave policies, the need for an alternative work schedule, a lack of training and education needed for a given position. The study suggests that unless these issues are addressed in the region by potential employers, the high rate of unemployment for the PAEG population will continue. 

The findings from the Recompete Project collectively point to a set of interrelated economic, structural, and social factors driving the persistently high Prime Age Employment Gap (PAEG) in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. The employment challenges in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties stem from longstanding structural, economic, and social factors rather than individual disengagement. Addressing childcare limitations, improving job quality, reducing financial instability, and expanding training opportunities are central to increasing workforce participation. With strong employer commitment and clear alignment with the goals of the Recompete Project, the region is well positioned to pursue targeted federal investment aimed at reducing the Prime Age Employment Gap and creating sustainable pathways to family-wage employment. The next step for local, state, and federal decision makers who represent these geographic areas is to develop a strategic plan that addresses these barriers and identified gaps and implement both structural and programmatic initiatives that will help move the unemployed PAEG population to better and more stable family-wage jobs.

The immediate result of the Recompete Project has been to increase awareness of the barriers and issues that the PAEG population is facing in their pursuit of becoming employed in both Grays Harbor and Pacific County The next phase of the Recompete Project is to work toward a strategic plan that will use the data collected during the Recompete Project as the basis for implementing structural and programmatic initiatives that will help move the PAEG population forward into family-wage jobs in the area. The strategic plan will be developed with the local partners who crafted the Recompete Project Report, which includes Grays Harbor College (see attached logo for names of the 5 partners). Beyond addressing the barriers and gaps identified in the Recompete Project Report, the strategic plan will also be used to help craft the responses to a notice of funding opportunity for future Recompete Project funding from Economic Development Agency (EDA), should that funding ever be made available. 

The most valuable lesson learned from the Recompete Project is that conducting research and uncovering the facts is invaluable and cannot be replaced with assumptions. Anecdotally, members of the community believed that the reason why the PAEG population was chronically unemployed included the usual tropes about laziness and abusing the social systems instead of wanting to work. This project underscores that there are structural barriers to employment - like available childcare – that must be addressed for this population to move from being unemployed to working for a family-wage in a local business. The need for accurate, timely, local, and unbiased data to develop initiatives and interventions that directly address the issue can only be accomplished though thorough, complete, and thoughtful research. That is one of the underlying benefits of the Recompete Project. 

• More information: https://graysharbor.org/newsroom/
• Michael McNickle, [email protected]