Seattle Reigns Supreme in 2023's Frontier Skills Ranking

What Sets This City Apart in Attracting Tech Talent

Photo byPhoto by Stephen Leonardi:

As a seasoned technology consultant, since 1986, when Microsoft established its Redmond campus in Seattle, I have closely watched Seattle’s technological evolution. Revisiting my observations in 2021 in an article on NewsBreak, it is evident that a unique tech essence defines the city’s vibrant employment landscape.

In 2016, Seattle hit the top of the top 10 list in the US. This list by Statista shows the share of the working population employed in technology-type occupations in the ten cities considered to be the best for tech start-ups in the US. GeekWire said Settle was still #1 in tech talent in 2020. And the same result was reported by BuiltInSeattle in 2021.

I see Seattle as an excellent place for Startups. For example, as one of my startup case studies, according to an article on Forbes, a Seattle software start-up company raised $25 million to help immigrants come to the US in 2021. Boundless Immigration helped 70,000 customers with their visa and citizenship applications. Even the New York Times and Bloomberg praised the achievements of Boundless Immigration.

How about in 2023?

In this article, I want to highlight the Burning Glass Institute’s 2023 research findings, stressing Seattle’s continued prominence in the tech landscape.

Seattle secured the top spot based on the Share of Tech Workers with Frontier Skills, with San Jose, San Francisco, and Boston/Cambridge trailing closely behind.

The Burning Glass Institute analyzed real-time labor market data from over 65 million US workers and job postings to identify areas with high growth and valuable tech skills.

This analysis helps us understand which cities are leading, growing, or lagging in tech-related jobs and skills. It found that different regions across the country vary in their readiness for investment in America’s tech-driven economy.

The study asked questions like:

“What drives regional economic growth in the knowledge economy? What is the best location for new and growing firms dependent on a highly skilled workforce? Where should educators, policymakers, and industry invest in advancing their city’s prospects as a rising tech hub?”

Like these researchers, I noticed that conventional studies on regional workforces tend to view talent as a mere headcount, gauging quality through educational levels. However, they overlook the unique skills individual workers offer.

This piece of research is helpful as instead of assessing America’s tech workforce competitiveness, it focuses on specific skills. As you would appreciate, not all skills hold the same weight in competitive landspace.

Therefore, these researchers prioritized those that are highly valued and have seen substantial demand growth in the job market, identifying them as Frontier Skills. Their analysis then considered the proportion of tech workers in a region possessing these crucial skills.

As the researchers point out, “In an environment of rapid technology change, growing utilization of advanced artificial intelligence, and fluid work formats, conventional approaches to answering these questions miss many of the contours of regional competitiveness.”

Rather than writing about the details of this analysis, which you can read publically through this report, I want to share my observations and experience with Seattle to give you a nuanced perspective on its being recognized as a technology center in the United States.

Why Seattle Leads the Tech Skills and the Industry

Seattle’s dominance in the tech arena can be attributed to several factors. From my observations, Seattle holds a blend of talent, established tech giants, educational resources, and a conducive ecosystem that propels this small yet vibrant city to the forefront of tech skills and employment in the United States.

Firstly, it hosts major tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Instructure, and many more, attracting top talent and fostering a rich innovation ecosystem. The presence of leading companies creates a magnet effect, drawing skilled employees and generating opportunities.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Seattle had 170,030 jobs in computer and mathematical, accounting for 8.3 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 3.4-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $65.19, significantly above the national wage of $51.99.

Additionally, Seattle benefits from robust educational institutions, including the University of Washington, feeding the talent pipeline with skilled graduates. The collaborative environment between academia and industry can promote skill development and advanced research.

Conclusions

The city’s investment in infrastructure and resources, coupled with a supportive government and policies encouraging tech growth, also plays a pivotal role.

This, combined with a vibrant culture that fosters creativity and entrepreneurship, creates an ideal environment for tech advancements and employment.

Seattle boasts a robust infrastructure and established technological ecosystem, making it an advantageous location for launching a startup in the tech sector.

The city’s strong foundation in technology, supported by the presence of major tech corporations, provides a conducive environment for emerging businesses.

Leveraging the existing infrastructure, talent pool, and resources, Seattle offers a favorable landscape for startups to thrive and access a network of skilled professionals, educational institutions, and collaborative opportunities within the tech industry.

Thank you for reading my perspectives.

I regularly contribute to NewsBreak, sharing my decades of original research and experience in science and technology.