Metro Economic Outlook: Seattle A talented workforce can be credited for retaining and attracting business in the Seattle region, but employers say they need more good help in order to keep the local economy humming. “Talent continues to be the issue of top concern with employers,” said Suzanne Dale Estey, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Seattle &King County, a public/private partnership that promotes business growth. “There’s some movement to support career and technical education, because in many regards, it’s been decimated in the secondary schools. “About two-thirds of all jobs will need some form of post-secondary education. We need to make sure we

Unemployment rate 12 10 8 6

4.6

4.3

U.S.

Seattle Metro

4 2 0

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (November 2016)

keep kids in school that otherwise might drop out. They’re a huge part of the pipeline.”

SEATTLE METRO: VITAL STATS Total working age population: 2,363,956 out of a total population of 3,733,580 Number of households: 1,437,222 Consumer price index: 256.941 (goods and services that cost $100 in 1982-1984 cost $256.94 in October 2016) Percentage of local residents with bachelor’s degrees: 26.2 With graduate or professional degrees: 15.0 Workers in STEM industries: 51.5 per 1,000 residents Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (2015), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (October 2016), American Institute for Economic Research (2015)

Last updated on 1/1/2017

The Seattle metro area spans three counties in northwestern Washington. In Seattle’s home of King County alone, there are nearly 500 companies and more than 45,000 employees in the aerospace sector. Boeing, the largest such employer, has seen heightened global demand for its 737 MAX airplane, and the company is on pace to construct 57 planes per month at its local plant in Renton by 2018. Aside from Redmond-based Microsoft, some of the region’s other notable Fortune 500 interests include retailers Amazon.com, Nordstrom and Starbucks, all three of which are headquartered in Seattle. Amazon in particular is in high growth mode. The company had about 500,000 square feet of office space in the region in 2010, but expects to have nearly

Unemployment and most CPI data updated monthly. Other data updated once annually as it becomes available.

10 million square feet of space by 2019 when construction on a third office tower in downtown Seattle is complete.

Labor force makeup Construction Mining and logging Manufacturing Trade, transportation and utilities Information Financial activities Professional and business services Education and health services Leisure and hospitality Other services Government Total nonfarm

103.5 1 185.6 363.4 101.3 98.2 266.6 257.8 183.3 69.2 272.5

Educational and medical centers provide one out of every six jobs in the City of Seattle, according to a report 1902.4 by the city’s 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 downtown business association. Number in thousands Elsewhere, more Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 2016) than 100 employers, by Dale Estey’s level of talent that is available,” Dale Estey said. estimate, have also established engineering centers in the Seattle region in recent years. Among the highWith the help of $40 million in support from profile companies are Google, Staples, Best Buy and Microsoft, the University of Washington has a Go Daddy. partnership with Tsinghua University in China that is designed to develop local tech talent. The “Global “These companies are not headquartered here, but they Innovation Exchange” is an institute based in Seattle are setting up digital offices here based on the high that will open in the fall of 2017 and allow students, faculty and professionals to collaborate on technology projects. Working age categories 218,247, 9%

245,758, 10%

249,203, 11% 20 to 24 25 to 34 604,182, 26% 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 59

519,916, 22%

60 to 64

526,650, 22%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

And in the future, mobility in the congested Seattle region will improve. Voters approved a $54 billion package in November 2016 to expand the light rail system. The project will add 62 new miles of track. “It’s a terrific catalyst for new development near the stations, and workers will be able to get to their jobs and families more easily,” Dale Estey said. “That’s another variable in quality in life.”

Last updated on 1/1/2017

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Employee Benefits Data Employers offering consumer-driven health plans 25% 19%

20%

15% 15% 10% 5%

Employers in the Seattle metro area are less likely to offer consumer-driven health plans compared with the national level, by a margin of 4 percent.

0% U.S.

Seattle Metro

Employers offering domestic partner benefits 75%

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

50%

U.S.

They are substantially more likely to offer domestic partner benefits, by a margin of 25 percent above the national level.

Seattle Metro

Source: SHRM Health Care Benchmarking Database (2016)

Retirement Employee 401(k) participation rate 80% 70%

66%

70%

60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

The rate of 401(k) participation in the Seattle metro area’s workforce is slightly higher than the national level, by a margin of 4 percent.

10% 0% U.S.

Seattle Metro

Source: SHRM Retirement & Welfare Benefits Database (2016)

Last updated on 1/1/2017

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Income and Turnover Data Overall turnover rate 25% 19%

20%

18%

15% 10%

Turnover in the Seattle metro area’s workforce is slightly lower than the national rate, by a margin of 1 percent.

5% 0% U.S.

Seattle Metro

Source: SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking Database (2016)

Median household income $75,331

$80,000

Median household income in the Seattle metro area is much higher than the national level, by nearly $19,000 annually.

$70,000 $60,000

$56,516

$50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0 U.S.

Seattle Metro

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

Per capita income $45,000 $40,000 $35,000 $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $0

$39,152 $29,979

U.S.

Per capita income in the Seattle metro region is also higher than the national level, by more than $9,000 annually.

Seattle Metro

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2015)

Last updated on 1/1/2017

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Top Management Salaries Data Median salaries, top management Median salaries for top management positions in the Seattle metro area are generally lower than national levels.

$206,000 $322,100

*Top legal executive

$280,200 $280,500

**Chief information officer

$201,600 $265,000

*Top HR executive

*Pacific Northwest states sub-region median data

$230,800 $348,600

*Chief financial officer

$337,000

*Chief executive officer

$650,000 $0

$200,000 Seattle Metro

$400,000

$600,000

$800,000

**West Coast region median data

U.S.

Source: Willis Towers Watson Data Services 2016 Survey Report on Top Management Compensation

Project lead: Project contributors: External contributors: Copy editing:

Joseph Coombs, Senior Analyst, Workforce Trends, SHRM Shonna Waters, Ph.D., VP of Research Suzanne Dale Estey, Economic Development Council of Seattle & King County Katya Scanlan, copy editor

This report is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). All content is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a guaranteed outcome. SHRM cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any liability resulting from the use or misuse of any such information. © 2017 Society for Human Resource Management. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. These materials and the data contained within them are copyrighted by SHRM, another copyright holder (where noted), or are government-owned. SHRM hereby grants permission for users to copy and use these materials and the data contained within them only if proper attribution is given to SHRM (or the noted copyright holder) as the source of the material. For more information, please contact: SHRM Research Department 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA Phone: (703) 548-3440 Fax: (703) 535-6432 Email: [email protected] Web: www.shrm.org/research

Last updated on 1/1/2017

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