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Greater Seattle has experienced unprecedented and continuous economic gains since the 1990s. Global companies like Microsoft have risen to prominence and further diversified the regional economy from a historical reliance on Boeing and aerospace. Legendary companies such as Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Costco, and Starbucks have also come to call Greater Seattle home. Before the pandemic, the region ranked number one in annual GDP growth among large U.S. metropolitan areas. The Brookings Institute referred to Greater Seattle as one of five superstar regions and a top innovation hub. But like many fast-growing economies, the economic headlines hid challenges across the region. Shortage of good jobs A 3 percent unemployment rate pre-Covid ...

Workforce trends in automation and digitalization, accelerated by the pandemic, will continue to eliminate low-skill jobs. As this work disappears, displaced workers—disproportionately people of color—increasingly need digital skills to get the good jobs of today and the future. A new report from IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partners program highlights strategies in which economic development organizations are helping workers of color prepare for and connect to higher-skill, in-demand jobs.

A new McKinsey report highlights the racial disparities that affect Black workers and business owners. Wage and professional achievement gaps Forty-three percent of Black workers earn less than $30,000 per year when the median wage for U.S. workers is $42,000 per year. Closing the wage gap could bring 2 million Black Americans into the middle class for the first time and 1 million more Black workers into employment. Eighty-five percent of the wage gap can be found within five sectors: professional services, manufacturing, construction, trade/transportation/utilities, and financial services. More than half of Black workers are employed in healthcare, retail, accomodation, and food services. The report discusses the many barriers to ...