Seattle’s Job Market Shifts As Boeing Plans New Production

The unemployment rate in Seattle is hanging at about 5%. That's not necessarily very good, and part of the reason is a lot of IT people at various different companies are being laid off. So right now, if you're in IT, it's a tough time in the Seattle market. However, there's a little bit of good news for everyone else. 

Boeing has just announced that they're getting ready to start hiring. 

According to Seattletimes.com,
‘Boeing has begun hiring for the long-discussed North Line in its Everett factory, a fourth 737 production line that is earmarked for the larger MAX 10 variant. 
The company hasn’t set an official deadline for when the production line will be up and running, and declined to answer questions about its plans. The timeline could be dictated in part by regulators, who have yet to certify the MAX 10.’ 

Right now, Boeing is advertising for first second and third shift managers, and that's good news for the Puget Sound in general, and for Boeing specifically. The listing says that Boeing's new hires will start in Renton and then eventually be moved to the Everett Facility. 

There are quite a few current and former Boeing workers in the Everett area that are looking forward to this. Boeing's Everett facility, among other things, has the largest manufacturing building in the world, and it covers more than 98 acres. 

747 production there ended in 2023 and 767 production will end next year. So that means there's going to be plenty of room in the Everett facility to fire up the 737 Max 10 program. 

Boeing is still waiting to kick in the 777X program. That plane still needs to be certified by the FAA before it goes into production.