Seattle-area unemployment topped 5% in November
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Unemployment in the Seattle area is rising faster than the national average, with the local jobless rate topping 5% in November, according to the latest federal data.
The big picture: Most U.S. metro areas saw unemployment rise between November 2024 and November 2025. But among the 56 metros with more than 1 million people, only eight saw bigger increases than Seattle.
By the numbers: The jobless rate in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was 1.1 percentage points higher in November than a year earlier, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.
- Nationwide, unemployment rose by a more modest 0.3 percentage points year over year, hitting 4.3% in November.
Context: The high Seattle-area jobless rate follows a sharp drop in online job postings locally.
What they're saying: The tech industry's shift toward artificial intelligence is one factor reshaping the local job market, said Paul Turek, a labor economist with the state Employment Security Department.
- Seattle no longer leads other large U.S. cities in the share of workers employed in tech, according to a Seattle Times analysis of recent census data.
Additionally, elevated interest rates and federal policy shifts — including uncertainty around tariffs — have weighed on the region's labor recovery over the past year, Turek said.
- State and local budget crunches, along with proposed taxes to help address them, could also be playing a role, he added.
The fine print: The release of the November metro area unemployment data was delayed by the government shutdown late last year.
- Federal workers affected by the shutdown were counted as employed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes — adding that it's "not possible to precisely quantify the effect" of the shutdown on the data overall.
What we're watching: Whether local jobs numbers rebound in 2026, particularly amid ongoing upheaval in the tech sector.