The loss of middle-income jobs in Seattle could put the region’s future global competitiveness at risk, according to a new study commissioned by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
The loss of middle-income jobs in Seattle could put the region’s future global competitiveness at risk, according to a new study commissioned by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Between 2009 and 2013, the Seattle area lost 7,000 middle-income jobs, according to the Boston Consulting Group, which conducted the study. Those middle-income jobs paid a median $49,000 a year.
In constrast, the number of low-income jobs increased by 20,000, and the number of high-income jobs went up by 18,000. The low-income jobs paid a median of $27,000 a year, and high-income jobs paid a median of $87,000.
Currently, the region is not producing enough homegrown talent with the right skill sets for the middle- and high-income jobs of the future, said John Wenstrup, senior partner and managing director at the Boston Consulting Group.
The area also relies on four major employers — Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing and the University of Washington — which, directly or indirectly, provide about 30 percent of the jobs here, Wenstrup said.
The concentration of tech jobs has been a boon in recent years. But it also poses a risk, should one of the companies decide to leave or locate a major portion of its work elsewhere.
Those two factors combined — the possible lack of enough local talent in the future and the lack of diversification of employers — could mean the region may not be competitive in attracting talent, jobs and wealth to the area in the future, Wenstrup said.
The loss of middle-income jobs would also have a ripple effect on everything from education to poverty rates to inter-generational mobility, according to the BCG study.
Seattle’s global competitiveness, as ranked among nine peer cities, dropped from No. 5 in 2013 to No. 6 this year, according to the study.
But that had more to do with improvements made by Stockholm and Singapore in several key areas, even as Seattle stayed about the same in some of the metrics BCG used to rank the cities.
Among the most pressing issues affecting Seattle’s global competitiveness are education gaps, the limited economic diversity, the lack of a “cohesive global brand,” income inequality and infrastructure gaps, according to the study.