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The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) estimates that downtown Seattle lost about 13,000 jobs between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025. Across Seattle as a whole, the association reports a loss of more than 18,000 jobs; Bellevue added 5,375. Those figures show sharply different local employment trends, but they do not show that the jobs lost in Seattle were transferred to Bellevue.
What the 2024–2025 figures say
The DSA’s comparison is based on first-quarter data for each year. It draws its downtown estimate from Puget Sound Regional Council and Washington State Employment Security Department data. The citywide and downtown numbers describe employment change, not a count of people who moved between cities.
| Geography | Employment change, 2024–2025 | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | More than 18,000 jobs lost | Citywide change reported by the DSA. |
| Downtown Seattle | About 13,000 jobs lost | DSA estimate; roughly 70% of Seattle’s reported citywide decline. |
| Bellevue | 5,375 jobs added | Citywide change reported by the DSA. |
| Tacoma | 662 jobs added | Citywide change reported by the DSA. |
The DSA’s release and figures are available in its 2026 employment update. The downtown estimate is a subset of the broader Seattle decline, not an additional loss to add on top of it.
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How the latest change compares with the longer-term baseline
The one-year comparison is distinct from the DSA’s 2019–2025 figures. For that longer period, the association estimates downtown Seattle’s workforce was 22% below its 2019 level in 2025, while Bellevue was 6% below its own 2019 level. Downtown Seattle nevertheless remained the region’s largest employment center, with more than 300,000 jobs, according to the DSA.
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Looking across the wider Puget Sound metro area, the DSA ranks it 20th among the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas for employment growth from 2019 to 2025. The association reports growth of 1.7%, compared with 25% for Austin and 14% each for Dallas/Fort Worth and Nashville. These are metro-wide, six-year comparisons, not downtown-only or tech-sector figures; the DSA’s metro growth comparison and downtown and Bellevue baseline figures provide those separate measures.
Did Seattle’s jobs move to Bellevue?
The numbers do not establish that. A city can lose jobs while another gains them without the same positions or workers moving between the two. The DSA’s figures are net employment changes by geography; they do not track individual workers, employers’ relocations, or the origin of Bellevue’s added jobs.
Company employment counts provide context but do not resolve that question. GeekWire, citing Bellevue’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, reports that Amazon employed 15,700 workers in Bellevue at the end of 2025 and about 49,000 in Seattle. Those location totals do not identify where Bellevue’s net new jobs came from or show that they were moved out of Seattle. See GeekWire’s account of the Amazon figures.
Why might the cities be moving in different directions?
The DSA argues that Seattle’s business taxes and broader business climate contributed to downtown job losses. That is the association’s position, not a cause established by the reported employment counts. The cited comparison does not isolate the effect of Seattle’s JumpStart payroll expense tax from remote-work patterns, changes in the technology sector, interest rates, or other possible influences. The DSA’s argument is set out in its June 2026 report; the distinction between its claim and a causal finding matters when interpreting the headline.
It is also important not to treat total employment as a proxy for tech employment. The reported Seattle and Bellevue changes cover overall jobs, while the cited sources do not provide a matching tech-sector breakdown that would show whether technology positions specifically shifted across Lake Washington.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the association says the numbers mean
DSA president and CEO Jon Scholes called the figures a warning, saying, “Downtown Seattle is still the largest and most important employment center in our region, but these numbers are a clear warning that we cannot take that position for granted.” He also said, “Seattle has reinvented its economy many times, and we have every reason to believe we can do it again.” Both remarks reflect the association’s perspective; its report on Seattle’s business climate makes the case for its interpretation.
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