Tech layoffs drive Seattle-area unemployment above 5%

The first major tech layoff of 2026 hit Seattle-area workers at Meta this week. About 330 roles at the social networking giant were eliminated, according to a filing with the Washington Employment Security Department. It’s the latest in a series of tech layoffs, and more cuts are expected across the industry in the coming weeks.

The steady drumbeat of tech layoffs is driving the Seattle-area unemployment rate higher than the national average. In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region, the jobless rate climbed to 5.1% in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate in November was 4.5%.

“ What plays into that is the concentration of the industries that we have here, some of the big industries in our area like information,” said Jeremy Warren, director of impact at the Workforce Development Council (WDC) of Seattle–King County. “ That's why you may be seeing the average higher [rate] here than you may see in other places because of just the sheer amount of concentration that we have in some of those sectors and just how unique Seattle is in that way, that that is one of our largest industries.”

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Nearly 13,000 people were laid off in the Seattle-King County region in 2025, according to WDC’s index, and more than half of them were in the information sector.

“ That's 13,000 people that will be looking for work … are trying to either re-enter or re-skill,” Warren said. “Just in King County. That is a large number of people.”

In October, Amazon announced plans to cut 14,000 positions across the U.S., with about 2,400 roles eliminated in its home state of Washington. At the time, the company suggested an additional round of layoffs was planned for the new year. That layoff is expected next week, according to several current and former employees with knowledge of the matter.

The layoffs come as the region’s tech industry is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. Tech giants are spending billions of dollars to build data centers and fiercely competing for AI talent. Even as they slash jobs in some parts of their businesses, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are in the WDC’s top 10 companies hiring the most workers.

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“ It's like a tale of two cities,” Warren said. “You have that really booming tech economy … We've invested this much in AI, we've acquired this startup, or there's all of this capital being poured in. On the other side of the coin, you have layoffs … people whose jobs are being shed, and it's not just entry level. These are senior people with years and years of experience, trying to navigate this labor market.”