Our employment summaries derive from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), administrative records employers report, by law, to the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD). The dataset for March of each year is presented here as a representative month when seasonal fluctuations are minimized. The unit of measurement is jobs, rather than working persons or proportional full-time employment (FTE) equivalents; part-time and temporary positions are included. Employment by city totals show separate breakdowns by major sector (e.g., services, manufacturing, retail, etc.) and by 2-digit NAICS industrial classification codes. Employment by census tract totals is broken down by major sector only.

To provide more accurate workplace reporting, PSRC gathers supplemental data from the Boeing Company, the Office of Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and governmental units throughout the central Puget Sound region (see Supplemental Survey of Job Locations).

Data Notes:

• Minor improvements were made to 2000 and 2010 datasets in Spring 2013.
• The 2008 dataset was updated in April 2010 to reflect improvements to local education job estimates.
• The 2000-2007 datasets were updated in August 2009 to reflect several improvements incorporated into the PSRC’s covered employment database.
• See the “metadata” tab of the data spreadsheets for a detailed documentation of data improvements and revisions.

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Reference Files

Census Geography Maps

Census Geography GIS Shapefiles

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is covered employment?
  • Covered employment refers to positions covered by the Washington Unemployment Insurance Act. The Act exempts the self-employed, proprietors and corporate officers, military personnel, and railroad workers, so those categories are not included in the dataset. Covered Employment accounts for approximately 85-90% of all employment. More information can be found in the Employment Data Series memo.