Washington payroll jobs have been flat for two years

What this chart asks

Has Washington added jobs since the start of 2024, and do the two official payroll series agree?

Why it is shown this way

• A line shows the level month by month, so readers can see that September 2026 ends close to September 2024.
• Both series are shown because the claim's 'negative' result depends on which one is used.
• The vertical axis starts near 3.58 million, not zero, so month-to-month changes of a few thousand jobs are visible; the whole range shown is about 2% of all jobs.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

Boeing strike

October 1, 2024

The machinists' strike at Boeing lowered October and November 2024 payroll counts.

Why this is marked: The state forecast council's November 2, 2026 Economic Review notes that the Boeing strike showed up in the October and November 2024 data; the dip is not a general job loss.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset wa-jobs-income-2026, analysis payroll-levels

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Washington jobs, income and prices in 2026

1. Washington Employment Security Department, Monthly Employment Report charts and data, September 2026 Seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll jobs, January 2016 to September 2026 (sheet 'Empl. and unempl., sa'), and the September 2026 change by industry (sheets 'Industry employment OTM, sa' and 'Industry employment OTY, nsa'). Updated October 14, 2026.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State government work; public information. Public data; redistributed with attribution.

   Reliability: Government. The state labor department's labor market office produces this series with BLS. It is benchmarked to quarterly unemployment-insurance wage records, and the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council uses it.

2. Washington Employment Security Department, Monthly Employment Report, September 2026 Narrative and tables for the September 2026 job change, including the split between government and private employers.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State government work; public information. Linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Written by the department's chief labor economist from the same estimates as the workbook.

3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics: Washington total nonfarm (SMS53000000000000001) and U.S. total nonfarm (CES0000000001) Federal payroll job estimates as published, seasonally adjusted, in thousands.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. Monthly survey of employers. The state figures are not yet benchmarked for 2026, so they can differ from the state's benchmarked series.

4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U all items, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (CUURS49DSA0) Seattle-area consumer price index, not seasonally adjusted, June and August 2025 and 2026.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. The official federal price index for the Seattle metro area, collected every other month.

5. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SQINC1 state quarterly personal income summary, Washington Washington personal income and per capita personal income, Q2 2025 and Q2 2026, seasonally adjusted annual rates, current dollars. Released September 30, 2026.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. Official federal estimates of income received by state residents from all sources, before taxes and not adjusted for inflation.

6. Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, Economic Review, November 2, 2026 The state's preliminary November 2026 forecast for 2026 employment, personal income and Seattle-area inflation.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State government work; public information. Linked, not redistributed.

   Reliability: Government. Nonpartisan forecast staff serving a council of legislators from both parties and the executive branch. The council's members include Rep. Travis Couture, who made the claim checked here.

7. Rep. Travis Couture, post on X, November 3, 2026 The claim checked: the legislator's own words.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Quoted for commentary. Linked; quoted briefly.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. Has a stake in this finding. A Republican state representative replying to the Democratic governor's post about a WalletHub ranking. He serves on the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

Limitations

• The vertical axis does not start at zero; the movements shown are small relative to the 3.6 million total.
• October 2025 is missing from the state series because of the federal funding lapse, so that line has a gap.
• 2026 values are preliminary and will be revised; the federal series has not yet been benchmarked for 2025-2026.