Labor Surplus Areas are designated by the US Department of Labor. Employees located in these areas are eligible for preference in federal contract bids if they agree to perform at least 51 percent of the contract work within such areas. The purpose of the labor surplus area preference is to help guide a portion of the government’s procurement dollars into those areas with the highest unemployment.

The labor surplus area classification is based on the area’s unemployment rate for the previous two calendar years. The reference period used for this list was January 1997 through December 1998. To be included on this list, an area must have had an average unemployment rate of at least 6.0 percent during the two-year period.

The following areas in Washington State have been designated as "labor surplus areas."