Department of Numbers

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Job Growth

There were 1,987,300 jobs in Seattle, Washington in February 2021 according to the CES survey of employers. The CPS survey of households showed 2,043,326 employed persons for the month. Seattle added 23,700 jobs in February 2021 according to the CES survey while the broader CPS measure of employment rose by 4,329 (Comparing CES and CPS employment numbers.). You can also compare Seattle job growth to job growth in other cities.

Employment Survey February 2021 Month/Month Year/Year
CES 1,987,300 +23,700 -133,900
CPS 2,043,326 +4,329 -85,073

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 133,900 jobs have been lost in Seattle according to the employer survey. From a trough of 1,865,400 in May 2020, Seattle has gained 121,900 jobs according to CES employment figures.

CPS employment reached a maximum of 2,128,399 for Seattle in February 2020. 85,073 jobs have been lost in Seattle since then according to the household survey. From a April 2020 low of 1,794,914, Seattle has added 248,412 jobs according to the CPS survey.

Employment: CES, CPS

CES and CPS employment chart through February 2021

Seattle, Washington Employment History

Date CES
Employment		 CES
Month/Month		 CPS
Employment		 CPS
Month/Month
February 2021 1,987,300 23,700 2,043,326 4,329
January 2021 1,963,600 3,600 2,038,997 45,629
December 2020 1,960,000 0 1,993,368 -20,268
November 2020 1,960,000 6,900 2,013,636 -39,846
October 2020 1,953,100 -2,800 2,053,482 55,325
September 2020 1,955,900 12,700 1,998,157 -14,143
August 2020 1,943,200 15,000 2,012,300 27,852
July 2020 1,928,200 17,300 1,984,448 34,576
June 2020 1,910,900 45,500 1,949,872 125,371
May 2020 1,865,400 -2,900 1,824,501 29,587
April 2020 1,868,300 -237,500 1,794,914 -233,595
March 2020 2,105,800 -15,400 2,028,509 -99,890

Data on deptofnumbers.com is for informational purposes only. No warranty or guarantee of accuracy is offered or implied. Contact [email protected] (or @deptofnumbers on Twitter) if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. Privacy policy.