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OLYMPIA – Washington state’s slowing economic growth is reflected in the Employment Security Department’s annual employment and occupation projections. The projected average annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028 is 0.97% and the average annual growth from 2028 to 2033 is 0.89%.
The annual projections, released this summer, provide job seekers, policymakers, educators and training providers an idea of how many jobs exist within industries and occupations, how the number of jobs is expected to change over time, and the projected future demand for workers.
“These projections help people make informed employment and education decisions,” said Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for Employment Security. “We develop short, medium and long-term projections to show expected change in employment by industry and occupation.”
The updated projection reports, an interactive dashboard and the methodology are available on the Employment Security Department’s website.
Employment and occupations projections highlights
- At a sector level, the highest growth is expected in education and health services. Average annual growth is expected to be 1.95% from 2023 to 2028 and 1.19% from 2028 to 2033.
- The top three occupations for projected growth rates from 2023 to 2028 are nurse practitioners, occupational therapy assistants and nuclear technicians.
- The top three occupations for projected annual average openings due to growth from 2023 to 2028 are fast food and counter workers, home health and personal care aides and registered nurses.
- The top three occupations for projected total average annual openings are fast food and counter workers, retail salespersons and farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery and greenhouse.
- Employment is expected to continue to expand throughout Washington. Average annual growth for all occupations is expected to be highest in King County from the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025 (1.37%). The highest growth in the medium term is expected in Snohomish County (1.14% average from 2023 to 2028), and long-term growth will shift back to King County from 2028 to 2033 (0.92%).
An interactive dashboard on industry employment projections is available for users to break down data by state and county and by individual industry sectors. Full details and data files are available on Employment Security’s website.