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.

Labor markets don't stand still. Employment levels shift. Hiring patterns change. Wages adjust. Industries expand or contract. For anyone working in workforce development—whether you're supporting jobseekers, designing training programs, planning for talent needs, or shaping policy—having a clear, current view of these dynamics is essential.

A new data tool demonstrates the significant gap between racial inequality in King County as compared with state and national averages. Although the region boasts relatively high incomes, this prosperity is concentrated among the White population. The data represents the first phase of “Workforce Dynamics,” a new economic and social visualization project produced by the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County (WDC). The project offers detailed and disaggregated data visualizations, with initial focus on Place and Income.