Is Seattles job market starting to crash slowly? (Tacoma, Pacific: 2014, lease)

[annonymous0381]

Originally Posted by Bolo99

That sucks TS. You moved to the area for this job, sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. It's time to pound the pavement hard to land your next gig.

If the economy is as healthy as other people say it is then I should be able to pick up another job.

[josie13]

I see "Help Wanted" signs all over my area.

[jm31828]

Not slowing down at all from everything I have heard. Where I work we are struggling to hire staff (Help Desk support), because by the time we get through the interview process and get back to the favored person and make an offer, he/she already has a couple of other offers they are considering.

There are ups and downs some months over others, but others have said, there is no word of any overall slowdown going on- things seem to really be humming along here in the area.

[Legacy Bear]

I always see jobs available, but of course it depends what job.

[Yakscsd]

I think the market here is still pretty hot. I have several opening I can't fill. I'm always looking for either licensed plumbers, or anyone with water heater experience and have never seen a more competitive time.

[CrazyDonkey]

If there is a hiring slowdown, it'll likely start with the big players: Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing. Amazon just missed on their quarterly profit: order could have come down to tighten their belts. Microsoft was already laying off and re-orging. Boeing lowered their outlook for 2016, with fewer deliveries projected.

Just general uncertainty, over China, Japan, and Europe, with a strong dollar already hurting our exports, might delay planned hiring. Just because a job is listed, doesn't mean it will be filled.

[cmswazey]

And skillset plays a major role.

[amaiunmei]

Unemployment for all of King County in December 2015 was 4.5%. Seattle was lower than that. When unemployment is under 5%, you have more or less exhausted the "easy pickings" and now you're left with populations that tend to have structural issues preventing employment.

To that end, I am working with unemployed folks now and one of the biggest issues I'm seeing are (a) lack of degrees, and (b) lack of skill sets. IT is very particular about skill sets. It's also worth noting that skill sets do not easily translate; MS uses different skill sets than Amazon, and people trying to get out of the slower MS market to the hotter Amazon space sometimes have to get extra training to make that leap.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

Unemployment for all of King County in December 2015 was 4.5%. Seattle was lower than that. When unemployment is under 5%, you have more or less exhausted the "easy pickings" and now you're left with populations that tend to have structural issues preventing employment.

To that end, I am working with unemployed folks now and one of the biggest issues I'm seeing are (a) lack of degrees, and (b) lack of skill sets. IT is very particular about skill sets. It's also worth noting that skill sets do not easily translate; MS uses different skill sets than Amazon, and people trying to get out of the slower MS market to the hotter Amazon space sometimes have to get extra training to make that leap.

Back in October, there was a shortage of experienced construction workers. I don't know if it's still that way, but the building continues.

Not enough workers to keep up with the Seattle boom - Local News | MyNorthwest.com

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Back in October, there was a shortage of experienced construction workers. I don't know if it's still that way, but the building continues.

Not enough workers to keep up with the Seattle boom - Local News | MyNorthwest.com

That sounds like that's right. It's common for unions in other states to bid for work in WA state, especially when they see what union rates are up here (as opposed to, say, Southern states).