By Emily Hamann | The Bellingham Herald

Once again, the hospital has taken first place. At least in terms of employment.

The Western Washington University Center of Economic and Business Research has released its list of the top employers in Whatcom County for 2016.

At the top are a mix of for-profit companies, government and public employers and other industries.

St. Joseph Hospital once again tops the list, with 2,126 full-time employees.

Second place is the Lummi Nation, which is up from ninth place in 2015 — because this year the center combined all Lummi employees (including those at Silver Reef Casino) as one employer.

Third place is Western Washington University, followed by Bellingham Public Schools, the county government and BP Cherry Point in sixth place, with 820 employees.

“The list, to us, looks like a well-diversified economy with no one predominate sector showing up across the top employer lists, which is good,” James McCafferty, director of the center, said. Read more...