Department of Numbers

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Job Growth

There were 2,038,600 jobs in Seattle, Washington in August 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,096,444 employed persons for the month. Seattle added 9,500 jobs in August 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 3,930 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Seattle job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey August 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 2,038,600 +9,500 +95,400
CPS 2,096,444 +3,930 +107,351

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 82,600 jobs have been lost in Seattle according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,865,400 in May 2020, Seattle has gained 173,200 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 2,139,400 for Seattle in February 2020. 42,956 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 288,781 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through August 2021

Seattle, Washington Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
August 2021 2,038,600 9,500 2,096,444 3,930
July 2021 2,029,100 11,200 2,092,514 32,219
June 2021 2,017,900 16,600 2,060,295 4,133
May 2021 2,001,300 3,200 2,056,162 4,552
April 2021 1,998,100 1,900 2,051,610 5,081
March 2021 1,996,200 11,000 2,046,529 4,037
February 2021 1,985,200 21,600 2,042,492 5,150
January 2021 1,963,600 3,600 2,037,342 2,609
December 2020 1,960,000 0 2,034,733 6,207
November 2020 1,960,000 6,900 2,028,526 -24,701
October 2020 1,953,100 -2,800 2,053,227 46,063
September 2020 1,955,900 12,700 2,007,164 18,071

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