Seattle lost 18,605 jobs in 2025, or 3% of its total, with much of the loss concentrated in the tech sector, according to a Downtown Seattle Association report published Wednesday.
By contrast, several neighboring cities saw relatively strong job growth last year.
Bellevue’s employment jumped by 5,375 jobs, or 4%, while Tacoma gained 662 jobs, or around half a percent, according to the report, which is based on data from the Federal Reserve and the Puget Sound Regional Council. Everett saw 442 more jobs, for an increase of around half a percent.
As Mayor Katie Wilson and the City Council grapple with the city budget, the Downtown Seattle Association, which advocates for downtown businesses, is clearly warning that the city’s economy is too fragile for additional taxes. The budget proposal Wilson released last week did not include major tax increases.
Seattle’s poor jobs numbers “underscore the need for a course correction that makes Seattle more competitive and creates the conditions for employers to stay, invest and grow here,” said Jon Scholes, the association’s CEO, in a statement Wednesday.
The group's analysis is just the latest to highlight Seattle’s lagging economic recovery from the pandemic. Earlier this month, a report commissioned by the city laid out Seattle’s employment slowdown and its vulnerability to even greater job losses from AI.
Days later, a report from Challenge Seattle, a business-aligned group, highlighted economic difficulties facing both the city and the broader region.
Wednesday's report from the Downtown Seattle Association notes that employment grew just 1.7% across the broader Seattle metro area from 2019 to 2025, well behind 19 other U.S. metro areas.
Much of the Seattle region’s anemic performance was due to Seattle.
The city’s tech sector has contracted dramatically. In 2025, tech employment fell 15%, to 42,344, while it rose 27%, to 27,560, in Bellevue.
Downtown Seattle has taken the biggest hit, accounting for 13,000 lost jobs, or 70% of the city’s overall decline.
Downtown Seattle is also lagging other downtowns in inbound commuter foot traffic, and in 2025 was still 38% below prepandemic levels. That’s roughly on par with several other large cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, but well behind Bellevue, which is 21% below prepandemic levels, or Austin, which is 23% behind, according to the Downtown Seattle Association report.
The report comes amid a broader debate over Seattle’s business taxes, which many in the business community say are partly to blame for the city’s loss of jobs and employers.
The association's Scholes and other business leaders were largely pleased by the budget proposal Wilson released last week.
“At a time when employers are facing significant headwinds, the decision not to layer on additional business taxes … sends an important signal,” Scholes said. “We urge (council) members to preserve those principles and adopt a budget that supports Seattle’s economic recovery and long-term prosperity.”
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