Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Seattle fell 1.6 percentage points in May 2020 to 15.7%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.6 percentage points higher than the Washington rate. The unemployment rate in Seattle peaked in April 2020 at 17.3% and is now 1.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Seattle unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	13.3%	-1.4	+9.7
Washington	15.1%	-1.2	+10.7
Seattle	15.7%	-1.6	+12.3

Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.¹ All comparisons are made with May 2020 data as June metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

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 36,182 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Seattle employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Seattle, Washington) is also available.

Unemployed Persons	May 2020	Month/Month	Year/Year
Seattle	338,775	-36,182	+265,824

Number of Unemployed Persons

Seattle, Washington Unemployment History

Date	National Unemployment Rate	Washington Unemployment Rate	Seattle Unemployment Rate	Seattle Unemployed
July 2020	10.2%	—	—	—
June 2020	11.1%	9.8%	—	—
May 2020	13.3%	15.1%	15.7%	338,775
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
September 2019	3.5%	4.1%	3.2%	69,293
August 2019	3.7%	4.2%	3.2%	70,211