Top 5 Employers in Washington: Which Companies Have the Most Jobs?

Washington state is home to several large employers, and many, like Boeing, are well-known throughout the country. The largest single private employer is Boeing, with approximately 85,000 employees within the state. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, that accounts for almost half of Boeing's national aerospace workforce.

Amazon, the foremost on-line retailer, has repeatedly declined requests from the Business Journal to report how many employees it has in Washington, although company headquarters are located in Seattle.

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Yahoo Finance reports the company has over 154,000 full-time employees worldwide. However, considering the size of its operations within its home state, it is very likely that Amazon is among the biggest employers in Washington.

While most people think of Washington and Microsoft, the company was actually founded in New Mexico in the 1970s. Now based in Redmond with more than 41,000 employees in Washington alone and 128,000 worldwide, Microsoft reports revenues of more than $93 billion annually, according to the company website.

With campuses in Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma, the University of Washington is one of the largest employers in the state, with almost 30,000 employees. The university report the primary campus in Seattle has over 45,000 students enrolled for the 2014-2015 school year.

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Additionally, in 2014, U.S. News & World Report placed the school in a tie for 14th place on a report on the best global universities, "based on 10 indicators that measure their academic research performance and their global and regional reputations."

Combined, the U.S. Government is by far the largest employer in the state. With well over 100,000 employees, anyone interested in getting a job or being a supplier to large organization cannot ignore the potential benefits here.

The U.S. Navy's presence alone accounts for more than 45,000 full-time employees, according to the Business Journal. When combined with the two Army bases and the two Air Force bases in the state; the military employs enough people, many of which are civilians, to be included as a top employer. Beyond the military, there are also many other government organizations, such as the U.S. Postal Service, that provide jobs in Washington.

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