Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Job Growth

There were 1,681,600 jobs in Seattle, Washington in December 2011 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 1,730,034 employed persons for the month. Seattle lost 1,600 jobs in December 2011 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 3,559 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Seattle job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	December 2011	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	1,681,600	-1,600	+37,800
CPS	1,730,034	+3,559	+15,205

Note: The CPS survey data is now seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level by with the new BLS SSA series.

Seattle, Washington Employment Changes

The chart below shows the monthly job growth for Seattle as measured by the CES survey. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green. The CPS data is not shown since it is not seasonally adjusted at the metropolitan level.

CES Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

CPS Employment Change: 1 Month, Rolling 3 Month

Total Employment for Seattle, Washington

CES employment for Seattle peaked in February 2008 at 1,770,500. Since then 88,900 jobs have been lost in Seattle according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,629,000 in February 2010, Seattle has gained 52,600 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 1,771,407 for Seattle in August 2008. 41,373 jobs have been lost in Seattle since then according to the household survey. From a July 2011 low of 1,692,174, Seattle has added 37,860 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Seattle, Washington Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
December 2011	1,681,600	-1,600	1,730,034	3,559
November 2011	1,683,200	9,000	1,726,475	4,055
October 2011	1,674,200	9,800	1,722,420	10,874
September 2011	1,664,400	-2,800	1,711,546	14,935
August 2011	1,667,200	-4,200	1,696,611	4,437
July 2011	1,671,400	4,400	1,692,174	-2,772
June 2011	1,667,000	2,500	1,694,946	-2,438
May 2011	1,664,500	5,600	1,697,384	-3,482
April 2011	1,658,900	2,400	1,700,866	-11,095
March 2011	1,656,500	2,300	1,711,961	-3,753
February 2011	1,654,200	-1,400	1,715,714	1,407
January 2011	1,655,600	11,800	1,714,307	-522
December 2010	1,643,800	6,700	1,714,829	748