State Workforce Data - WA
Washington
Workforce
2024
2000
1990
| Civilian Labor Force | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 1,213,704 |
| % in the civilian labor force | 70.5% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 855,661 |
| % unemployed of the total civilian labor force | 4.6% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 816,043 |
| % change: 2000-2024 | 158.8% |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 93.6% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 5,291,787 |
| % in the civilian labor force | 62.6% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 3,312,659 |
| % unemployed of the total civilian labor force | 4.9% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 3,148,569 |
| % change: 2000-2011 | 27.0% |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 16.9% |
| Foreign Born | |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 554,307 |
| % change: 2000-2011 | 61.6% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 341,464 |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 7.7% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 315,310 |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 4,000,749 |
| % change: 2000-2011 | 65.9% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 2,638,258 |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 6.0% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 2,479,056 |
| Foreign Born | |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 293,889 |
| % change: 2000-2011 | 59.9% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 176,163 |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 7.5% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 162,879 |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Population (16 and older) | 3,420,003 |
| % change: 2000-2011 | 65.8% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 2,248,725 |
| % change: 1990-2000 | 5.7% |
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) | 2,119,905 |
| Foreign-Born Labor Force by U.S. Citizenship Status | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Naturalized Citizens | |
| Population (16 and older) | 625,235 |
|
% in the civilian labor force
|
66.9% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 418,282 |
| % unemployed of the total civilian labor force | 3.2% |
| Civilian employed workers (age 16 and older) | 405,161 |
| Noncitizens | |
| Population (age 16 and older) | 588,469 |
|
% in the civilian labor force
|
74.3% |
| Civilian labor force (age 16 and older) | 437,232 |
|
% unemployed of the total civilian labor force
|
6.0% |
| Civilian employed workers (age 16 and older) | 410,882 |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Foreign-Born Workers by Period of Entry and Origin | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Foreign-Born Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) by Period of Entry | 818,700 |
|
% recent arrivals (i.e., arrived within the last 10 years)
|
31.8% |
| Foreign-Born Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) by Region of Birth | 818,700 |
| Born in Africa | 7.2% |
| Born in Asia | 47.1% |
| Born in Europe | 12.2% |
| Born in Latin America (South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean) | 29.0% |
| Born in Northern America (Canada, Bermuda, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon) | 2.9% |
| Born in Oceania | 1.5% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Civilian Workers Age 16 and Older | 816,043 |
| % Civilian Workers Employed in | |
| Management, business, science, and arts occupations | 46.3% |
| Service occupations | 18.1% |
| Sales and office occupations | 11.7% |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations | 11.0% |
| Production, transportation, and material moving occupations | 12.8% |
| % Foreign Born by Occupation | |
| All civilian employed workers | 20.6% |
| Management, business, science, and arts occupations | 20.3% |
| Service occupations | 23.6% |
| Sales and office occupations | 13.8% |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations | 26.8% |
| Production, transportation, and material moving occupations | 23.2% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Civilian Workers Age 16 and Older | 3,148,569 |
| % Civilian Workers Employed in | |
| Management, business, science, and arts occupations | 47.1% |
| Service occupations | 15.2% |
| Sales and office occupations | 18.9% |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations | 7.8% |
| Production, transportation, and material moving occupations | 11.0% |
| Industries | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Civilian Workers Age 16 and Older | 816,043 |
| % Civilian Workers Employed in | |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining | 4.4% |
| Construction | 7.2% |
| Manufacturing | 9.0% |
| Wholesale trade | 1.4% |
| Retail trade | 10.4% |
| Transportation and warehousing, and utilities | 6.6% |
| Information | 4.7% |
| Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing | 3.8% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste-management services | 18.9% |
| Educational services, and health care and social assistance | 19.4% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services | 8.0% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 3.6% |
| Public administration | 2.5% |
| % Foreign Born by Industry | |
| All civilian employed workers | 20.6% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining | 44.9% |
| Construction | 21.3% |
| Manufacturing | 21.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 14.7% |
| Retail trade | 18.9% |
| Transportation and warehousing, and utilities | 23.1% |
| Information | 33.7% |
| Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing | 14.7% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste-management services | 26.8% |
| Educational services, and health care and social assistance | 17.6% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services | 20.2% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 16.6% |
| Public administration | 9.9% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Civilian Workers Age 16 and Older | 3,148,569 |
| % Civilian Workers Employed in | |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining | 1.4% |
| Construction | 6.9% |
| Manufacturing | 8.5% |
| Wholesale trade | 2.1% |
| Retail trade | 11.6% |
| Transportation and warehousing, and utilities | 5.7% |
| Information | 2.4% |
| Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing | 5.7% |
| Professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste-management services | 13.4% |
| Educational services, and health care and social assistance | 23.5% |
| Arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services | 8.2% |
| Other services (except public administration) | 4.7% |
| Public administration | 5.9% |
| Class of Worker | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) (%) | 816,043 |
| Private wage and salary workers | 82.7% |
| Government workers | 10.6% |
| Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business | 6.6% |
| Unpaid family workers | 0.2% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Class of Worker (civilian workers age 16 and older) (%) | 3,148,569 |
| Private wage and salary workers | 76.9% |
| Government workers | 17.8% |
| Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business | 5.2% |
| Unpaid family workers | 0.1% |
Population (age 25 and older)
| Labor Force Participation by Language Spoken at Home | Number |
|---|---|
| Total Population (native and foreign born) Age 25 and older | 5,631,460 |
| In labor force | 3,689,420 |
| Not in labor force | 1,942,040 |
| Speak only English | 4,418,414 |
| In labor force | 2,796,687 |
| Not in labor force | 1,621,727 |
| Speak Spanish | 433,837 |
| In labor force | 330,219 |
| Not in labor force | 103,618 |
| Speak other Indo-European languages | 265,681 |
| In labor force | 193,932 |
| Not in labor force | 71,749 |
| Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages | 430,207 |
| In labor force | 304,599 |
| Not in labor force | 125,608 |
| Speak other languages | 83,321 |
| In labor force | 63,983 |
| Not in labor force | 19,338 |
| % | |
|---|---|
| Total Population (native and foreign born) age 25 and older | 100% |
| In labor force | 65.5% |
| Not in labor force | 34.5% |
| Speak only English | 100% |
| In labor force | 63.3% |
| Not in labor force | 36.7% |
| Speak Spanish | 100% |
| In labor force | 76.1% |
| Not in labor force | 23.9% |
| Speak other Indo-European languages | 100% |
| In labor force | 73.0% |
| Not in labor force | 27.0% |
| Speak Asian and Pacific Island languages | 100% |
| In labor force | 70.8% |
| Not in labor force | 29.2% |
| Speak other languages | 100% |
| In labor force | 76.8% |
| Not in labor force | 23.2% |
| Workers' Education and English Proficiency | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Civilian Employed Workers (age 25 and older) | 774,300 |
| Low-educated workers (i.e., those without a high school diploma) | 121,700 |
|
% low educated of all workers
|
15.7% |
| High-educated workers (i.e., those with at least a bachelor's degree) | 391,300 |
|
% high educated of all workers
|
50.5% |
| Limited English Proficient (LEP) Workers (age 25 and older) | 282,000 |
|
% LEP among all workers
|
36.4% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Civilian Workers (age 25 and older) | 2,742,100 |
| Low-educated workers (i.e., those with high school diploma) | 96,900 |
|
% low educated of all workers
|
3.5% |
| High-educated workers (i.e., those with at least a bachelor's degree) | 1,238,500 |
|
% high educated of all workers
|
45.2% |
| Limited English Proficient (LEP) Workers (age 25 and older) | 32,600 |
|
% LEP among all workers
|
1.2% |
| Brain Waste | Foreign Born |
|---|---|
| Skill Underutilization among College-Educated Workers (age 25 and older)* | |
| Total civilian, college-educated labor force, age 25+ | 402,700 |
|
Number underutilized (i.e., unemployed or employed in low-skilled jobs)
|
70,400 |
|
% of civilian, college-educated labor force, age 25+ |
17.5% |
| U.S. Born | |
|---|---|
| Skill Underutilization among College-Educated Workers (age 25 and older)* | |
| Total civilian, college-educated workers, age 25+ | 1,274,600 |
|
Number underutilized (i.e., unemployed or employed in low-skilled jobs)
|
204,100 |
|
% of all civilian, college-educated workers, age 25+ |
16.0% |
Sources: Migration Policy Institute tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and Decennial Census. Unless stated otherwise, 2024 data are from the one-year ACS file. For information about ACS definitions, click here. For ACS methodology, sampling error, and nonsampling error, click here. Estimates from 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census data as well as ACS microdata are from Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rodgers, Jonathan Schroeder, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS USA: Version 16.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V16.0.
Definitions
- The term "foreign born" refers to people residing in the United States at the time of the population survey who were not U.S. citizens at birth. The foreign-born population includes naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent immigrants (or green-card holders), refugees and asylees, certain legal nonimmigrants (including those on student, work, or some other temporary visas), and persons residing in the country without authorization.
- The term "U.S. born" refers to people residing in the United States who were U.S. citizens in one of three categories: people born in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia; people born in U.S. Insular Areas such as Puerto Rico or Guam; or people who were born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.
- Persons are considered to be in the civilian labor force if they were employed or if they were unemployed but actively looking for work. Persons not in the labor force include homemakers, retirees, students who do not work, and others who are neither working outside the home nor looking for work. Civilian labor force excludes members of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marines). Civilian employed population includes anyone who reported performing full or part-time work during a reference week, being temporarily absent from a job, or performing unpaid work for a family business or farm.
- The term limited English proficient (LEP) refers to any person age 5 and older who reported speaking English “not at all,” “not well,” or “well” on their survey questionnaire. Persons who speak only English or who report speaking English “very well” are considered proficient in English.
- The terms "brain waste" and "skill underutilization" are used interchangeably and describe a phenomenon when college-educated persons are either unemployed or employed in unskilled jobs, i.e., jobs that require only moderate on-the-job training or less, such as construction laborers, taxi drivers, file clerks, or nannies.
Data-related notes
- The letter N indicates that an estimate could not be provided by the Census Bureau because the number of sample cases was too small for this state.
- “Civilian Labor Force,” “Foreign-Born Labor Force by U.S. Citizenship Status,” “Occupations,” “Industries,” and “Class of Worker”: Data for Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are from the Census Bureau's pooled 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS). Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are from the 2024 ACS.
- “Foreign-Born Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) by Period of Entry,” “Foreign-Born Civilian Employed Workers (age 16 and older) by Region of Birth,” and “Workers' Education and English Proficiency (age 25 and older)”: The total estimate of foreign-born workers here is somewhat different from other workforce data due to different ACS data sources. Data for Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming are based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of the Census Bureau's pooled 2020-2024 ACS data. Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are based on MPI analysis of the 2024 ACS.
- Brain waste estimates are based on MPI analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS data. Data for Montana, West Virginia, and Wyoming are not available for foreign-born college-educated adult workers due to the small sample size. Data for Alaska, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont are from the pooled 2020-2024 ACS. Data for the United States overall and for the remaining states are based on MPI analysis of the 2024 ACS.