Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Job Growth

There were 1,998,600 jobs in Seattle, Washington in May 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,055,928 employed persons for the month. Seattle added 500 jobs in May 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 4,318 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Seattle job growth to job growth in other cities.

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 charts below show the monthly job growth for Seattle as measured by the CES and CPS surveys. To illustrate the trend, the 3 month moving average change in employment is shown in green.

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 2020 at 2,121,200. Since then 122,600 jobs have been lost in Seattle according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,865,400 in May 2020, Seattle has gained 133,200 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 2,139,400 for Seattle in February 2020. 83,472 jobs have been lost in Seattle since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 1,807,663, Seattle has added 248,265 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

Seattle, Washington Employment History