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Seattle's Job Market Outlook: Resilience Amid Tech and Logistics Challenges
Seattle's job market in late 2025 shows signs of weakening amid national slowdowns, with logistics and tech sectors pulling back, according to Elliott Krivenko of CoStar. The employment landscape reflects a 0.5% job gain over the past year to about 11,800 new positions, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by Krivenko, though federal shutdowns delayed September figures from the Washington State Employment Security Department. Unemployment stands around 4.6%, influenced by national trends and data gaps from the shutdown, as reported by KOMO News and the Daily Record. Major industries include tech, logistics, construction, and medical office, with key employers like Amazon and Microsoft driving activity despite office vacancy rises and rent declines leading the nation.
Growing sectors feature construction, up 28,000 jobs nationally in November per Associated Builders and Contractors via DJC, boosted by data centers, and AI-exposed roles growing 1.7% from mid-2023 to mid-2025 faster than pre-Covid, according to Vanguard research in the Seattle Medium. Retail remains tight with low availability and quick leasing, while medical offices hold steady. Recent developments include stalling office-using employment with tech shedding 2,000 jobs in August, per BLS via CoStar, and multifamily demand strengthening amid shrinking construction pipelines. Seasonal patterns show stable claims post-Thanksgiving, with no mass layoffs. Commuting trends favor remote work amid office challenges, though not quantified. Government initiatives include tenant protections limiting winter evictions for low-income earners, per the Urbanist, and mayor-elect housing affordability outreach. Market evolution points to stabilization in retail and apartments, but logistics vacancy at 9% and industrial rent falls signal caution; data gaps persist on precise local unemployment due to shutdowns.
Key findings: Resilient retail and construction offset tech/logistics weakness, with AI boosting exposed jobs so far. Current openings include software engineer at Amazon, logistics coordinator at UPS, and construction project manager at a Puget Sound firm.
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Published on 2 weeks ago