All of the big tech companies have been laying off workers over the past few months. So, it would be easy to think things are in a disastrous condition. Fortunately, that is NOT the case! In fact, tech continues to be a huge driver for the Washington state economy. Other sectors are looking strong, as well!
Here are Five Fast Facts about the Evergreen State’s jobs situation:
- 📈 More, More, More - Even though there were a lot of layoffs in tech, the construction, health service, and education industries more than made up for them with over 6,000 new jobs in April! Take that, coffee shop laptop gurus!
- 📉 Going Down Again - The state’s unemployment rate in April dropped a bit to 4.3% from 4.5% in March. It’s a bit higher than last year’s 4.1% but still an excellent number overall. Kinda' feels like if you’re not working it’s because you’re not trying.
- 💻 Tech Still Kicking - Despite the layoffs of recent months, tech is still the dominant sector in Washington state. Over 9% of all residents work somewhere in tech (the national average is less than 6%), and tech jobs are supposed to go back up by 4% by the end of the year. Giveth and taketh, apparently!
- 🤖 Cutting Edge - Part of the tech push is truly cutting edge stuff like AI and blockchain. Over 40% of tech job openings are for stuff that is only expected to be commonly used in the next decade. We don’t understand blockchain either, but it’s apparently quite the thing.
- ✋ Staying Put - Washington state also has one of the lowest resignation rates in the country. In March, less than 2% of workers quit, meaning they’re happy with their jobs and benefits. This is a very good thing, especially if a recession does hit in the near future.
🔥Bottom line: All in all, the job situation in our state is not too shabby. That’s a good thing any time, but especially if the economy at large does take a downturn. We want to save as many of our Paychecks as possible, and we think we’re in good shape to do that!
What do you think of the job situation in our state?
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