Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Job Growth

There were 1,695,800 jobs in Seattle, Washington in March 2012 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 1,735,321 employed persons for the month. Seattle added 7,000 jobs in March 2012 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 3,171 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Seattle job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey	March 2012	Month/Month	Year/Year
CES	1,695,800	+7,000	+38,300
CPS	1,735,321	+3,171	+23,360

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 1,770,100. Since then 74,300 jobs have been lost in Seattle according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,632,600 in February 2010, Seattle has gained 63,200 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 1,771,407 for Seattle in August 2008. 36,086 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 43,147 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Seattle, Washington Employment History

Date	CES Employment	CES Month/Month	CPS Employment	CPS Month/Month
March 2012	1,695,800	7,000	1,735,321	3,171
February 2012	1,688,800	100	1,732,150	457
January 2012	1,688,700	3,300	1,731,693	1,659
December 2011	1,685,400	3,600	1,730,034	3,559
November 2011	1,681,800	6,100	1,726,475	4,055
October 2011	1,675,700	9,100	1,722,420	10,874
September 2011	1,666,600	-1,000	1,711,546	14,935
August 2011	1,667,600	200	1,696,611	4,437
July 2011	1,667,400	2,800	1,692,174	-2,772
June 2011	1,664,600	700	1,694,946	-2,438
May 2011	1,663,900	400	1,697,384	-3,482
April 2011	1,663,500	6,000	1,700,866	-11,095
March 2011	1,657,500	600	1,711,961	-3,753