Closing the divide between people and opportunity.
In a region this prosperous, everyone should be able to share in it. For more than 25 years, we’ve connected people to what moves them forward.
Get ConnectedPhoto by Joseph Ntumba, WDC staff
The divide costs all of us.
Decades of boom have not closed King County’s stubborn divide: people and opportunity still can’t always find each other.
look for work that pays and lasts.
look to move up, not just get by.
look to build and retain a team that grows with them.
look for the capacity to grow.
look for partners who turn investment into impact.
What they share is a single need—to connect to what moves them forward. When that connection doesn’t happen, real effort turns into stalled progress.
The disruption is already here. Tech layoffs in our region this year have already outpaced each of the last two years. AI and automation are reshaping entry-level and mid-career work right now, and the workers with the least room to absorb that shock are the most exposed.
We know what the divide costs—because we’ve worked it from both sides for more than 25 years.
We know what it costs a family, a business, and a community when people and opportunity can’t find each other. We’ve weathered recessions, industry collapses, and technological change before, and helped this region come through each one. We don’t place people in jobs ourselves: we fund and coordinate the WorkSource Seattle-King County network, the career centers, training providers, and community organizations that work with job seekers and employers every day. Today we track the regional labor market month by month—layoffs, hiring, wages, and the skills employers need—so we can see the next shift coming and help people and employers get ahead of it.
In a region this prosperous, everyone needs to be able to share in that prosperity.
About the WDCconnecting the region
job seekers connected to work through the WorkSource network1
employers connected to talent1
in increased annual earnings since 20212
Not just income—the skills, savings, and financial footing that make it last.
1Unique job seekers and employers, program years 2000–2025, from state workforce data; job seeker figures are estimates, rounded down. 2Sum of each participant’s change in self-reported annual earned income from enrollment to exit, including those with no gain; all WDC-funded programs, program years 2021–2025 (6,387 enrollments with earnings recorded at both points); not adjusted for inflation; rounded down. How we count
What it looks like when the connection holds.
“I may not be a doctor, but I’m doing work I love, learning every day, and building a future for my kids and my family. The prognosis is bright.”
A clear, three-part plan.
Identify
Guided by what the data shows, we find the job seekers ready to work, the workers ready to move up, the employers who need talent, and the grassroots organizations already doing the work in their own neighborhoods.
Connect
- We build the capacity of local organizations
- Deliver training and reskilling matched to where jobs are going
- Strengthen financial literacy and asset-building
- Strategize alongside employers to build teams that grow with them
Advance
When those connections hold, the gains don’t stop with one person or one business. A worker reaches self-sufficiency and keeps climbing, an employer builds a stronger team, a neighborhood organization grows, and the whole region moves forward—no matter where someone starts.
Choose your path.
Whether you’re looking for work, hiring, or funding the work, pick the door that fits.
Find your path to a good job
Training, coaching, and connections to employers hiring now.
Get Connected EmployersBuild a team that grows with you
Training grants, interns, and layoff support for the team you have and the one you’re building.
Grow Your Team Partner organizationsGrow your capacity
Funding and partnerships for the organizations doing the work.
Partner With Us FundersTurn investment into impact
See where your investment goes and what it returns for the region.
Invest in UsNews
The stakes are rising.
King County is one of the most expensive places in the country to be economically self-sufficient. Every month of disruption widens the gap between those who can adapt and those left behind.
That’s what more investment changes. Since 2021 alone, the people we’ve served have added more than $180 million in annual earnings. That’s real progress—but in a region this expensive, it’s not yet enough to close the divide. More investment closes the remaining gap, and turns reacting to the next wave of disruption into getting ahead of it.
This work is shared.
When people and opportunity find each other, families build lasting security, businesses get the talent they need, and the region’s prosperity is finally shared.
That’s the future we’re building—and the moment to build it is now.
Invest in closing the divide