This month’s Workforce Index brings a full data refresh across the board—unemployment, hiring, wages, layoffs, and cost of living are all current. The headline: King County’s unemployment rate fell back below 5% for the first time since late 2025, but a shrinking labor force complicates the story. Meanwhile, healthcare employers are surging, job openings continue to climb, and WARN-reported layoffs are tracking ahead of recent years. Here’s what stood out in the May update.