Mayor Wilson Takes Action to Build a More Resilient Seattle Economy
Executive action and a new independent assessment chart Seattle’s course to retain businesses and workers, diversify its economy, and create room for firms of every size to thrive.
Seattle – Seattle’s economy works when businesses can grow and workers can afford to stay, and it is the responsibility of this administration to create the conditions for both. Today, Mayor Katie Wilson announced actions to strengthen Seattle’s economy and expand opportunity for businesses and workers, as the forces shaping the city’s economy shift and new pressures emerge.
“Businesses should be able to start here, grow here, and succeed here, and their employees should be able to build a life in the city where they work. That is a priority for this administration,” said Mayor Katie Wilson. “This assessment gives us an honest picture of where we are, and this Executive Order is how we start doing something about it. We are bringing Seattle’s business community in as genuine partners, and taking real steps to retain our strong foundation, diversify and grow our economic base, and make it simpler to do business in this city.”
The actions convene leaders from across Seattle’s economy, invest in business growth and innovation, and make it easier for businesses to open, operate and grow in Seattle. They are informed by a new independent assessment, Seawall: Building a Resilient Seattle Economy, commissioned by the Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED) and released today.
OED commissioned the economic consulting firm Formation in 2025 to independently assess Seattle’s economy and the forces shaping its future. The economists analyzed economic data and engaged business, labor, community and civic stakeholders to examine Seattle’s growth over the last decade, its strengths and vulnerabilities today, and opportunities ahead.
The report’s findings and recommendations are independent and are not City policy. The assessment provides a shared foundation for economic sectors, policymakers and labor leaders to develop long-term strategies that meet tomorrow’s economic realities and opportunities.
Formation found that Seattle’s growth over the last decade created significant jobs, innovation and opportunity, but relied heavily on large employers:
- From 2014 to 2023, firms with 100 or more employees accounted for 74.5% of net job growth in the Seattle metro, compared with 68.5% nationally.
- Mid-sized firms accounted for just 16.6%, less than any peer region and well below the national rate of 22.7%. Small firms accounted for the remaining 8.9%.
This concentration stands out against peer regions:
- Mid-sized firms generated 32.9% of job growth in San Diego, 28.5% in Austin, 28.4% in Minneapolis, 25.5% in Portland, 23.7% in Boston and 23.1% in Denver.
These findings underscore the importance of retaining the major employers that powered Seattle’s growth while broadening its economic base and creating conditions for businesses and industries of different sizes to grow.
The assessment also finds that Seattle’s economic success contributed to a high-cost environment that creates interconnected pressures across the economy.
Seattle’s innovation economy supports high wages and growth, but those conditions squeeze thinner-margin industries like childcare, restaurants and manufacturing. These industries support Seattle’s workforce and help attract and retain the more mobile businesses that drive growth.
Families feel these pressures too. A Seattle-area couple with two young children requires a basic household budget 91.5% higher than a couple without children. That family cost premium is higher than every peer region outside the Bay Area, including Denver at 84.5%, Boston at 77.4%, Portland at 70.1%, Austin at 70% and Atlanta at 50.2%.
Together, these independent findings show how Seattle’s growth over the last decade created pressures that make diversification and broader economic opportunity both challenging and increasingly important.
Through an Executive Order signed today, Mayor Wilson is taking four initial actions to strengthen economic resilience:
- Convene a Resilient Seattle Economy Task Force bringing together business, labor, community and civic leaders to build strong civic connections across sectors, convene industry-specific roundtables, and identify opportunities and strategies to build a resilient Seattle economy.
- Develop a Seattle Strategic Initiatives Fund proposal to explore tools that can support transformative projects and economic competitiveness.
- Expand opportunities for innovation and local and emerging businesses by directing capital departments to align assets and processes to spur economic development, innovation and diversification.
- Improve permitting pathways and City processes to make it easier to open, operate, and grow a business in Seattle.
“Seattle’s businesses are interconnected, and we are strongest when we recognize that to have a thriving economic ecosystem, we need companies of all sizes, across all industries. This report captures that need perfectly. Mayor Wilson’s executive orders are the first step in addressing how we are going to attract and retain businesses in Seattle, but also how we can reconfigure our strongest industries to support the needs of the region with the workforce of tomorrow,” said Beto Yarce, Director of the Seattle Office of Economic Development. “I am committed to bring together a coalition of business, labor, and community voices to find solutions and do the work together. This executive order, the task force, and the findings in this report will help inform our strategy for economic development moving forward.”
The Resilient Seattle Economy Task Force will bring together leaders from across Seattle’s economy to build strong civic connections across sectors, convene industry-specific roundtables, and identify opportunities and strategies to build a resilient Seattle economy.
This work will inform future economic development planning and identify opportunities to strengthen Seattle’s economic resilience. The City will also advance other actions outlined in the Executive Order while continuing to engage stakeholders on challenges and opportunities identified in the assessment.
Read the full Business Climate Assessment
Download the Business Climate Assessment Media Fact Sheet
Download the Seawall Slide Deck
Laur Clise, Founder and CEO, Intentionalist
“Seattle isn’t Seattle without the brick-and-mortar small businesses at the heart of our communities. They’re the places we connect, celebrate, and find belonging, and they’re critical community infrastructure that every sector of our economy depends on. Building a resilient Seattle economy means our largest employers, local government, and each of us showing up for our smallest businesses, and today is a meaningful step toward doing that together.”
Joe Nguyen, President and CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
“A strong Seattle economy takes partnership. We’re glad Mayor Wilson is making economic resilience a priority, and the Chamber is ready to work alongside the Mayor’s Office to grow jobs, support employers, and strengthen Seattle’s competitiveness.”
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