Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Seattle fell 1.2 percentage points in August 2020 to 8.1%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.3 percentage points lower than the Washington rate. The unemployment rate in Seattle peaked in April 2020 at 17.3% and is now 9.2 percentage points lower. You can also compare Seattle unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | August 2020 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 8.4% | -1.8 | +4.7 |
| Washington | 8.4% | -1.8 | +4.2 |
| Seattle | 8.1% | -1.2 | +4.9 |
Unemployment Rate: Seattle, Washington, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Seattle, Washington Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Seattle peaked in April 2020 at 374,957. There are now 196,643 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Seattle employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Seattle, Washington) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | August 2020 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | 178,314 | -24,463 | +108,103 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Seattle, Washington Unemployment History
| Date | National Unemployment Rate |
Washington Unemployment Rate |
Seattle Unemployment Rate |
Seattle Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2020 |
7.9% | 7.8% | — | — |
| August 2020 |
8.4% | 8.4% | 8.1% | 178,314 |
| July 2020 |
10.2% | 10.2% | 9.3% | 202,777 |
| June 2020 |
11.1% | 10.0% | 10.1% | 219,368 |
| May 2020 |
13.3% | 15.1% | 15.7% | 338,837 |
| April 2020 |
14.7% | 16.3% | 17.3% | 374,957 |
| March 2020 |
4.4% | 5.1% | 5.7% | 122,561 |
| February 2020 |
3.5% | 3.8% | 3.1% | 67,959 |
| January 2020 |
3.6% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 68,203 |
| December 2019 |
3.5% | 4.0% | 3.1% | 67,190 |
| November 2019 |
3.5% | 4.0% | 3.1% | 67,696 |
| October 2019 |
3.6% | 4.0% | 3.1% | 68,435 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩
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