The week in review: October 26–30
The week of October 26–30 on seattle.metrotrendlines.com, in 15 posts.
Monday, October 26 — Lake Washington, August 2026. Lake Washington’s surface was 23.0°C (73°F) in August 2026, at King County’s station in the middle of the lake south of the I-90 bridge. The August average since 1992 is 22.2°C; the warmest August was 24.4°C, in 2014.
Monday, October 26 — The three parks, September 2026. The three national parks within a few hours of Seattle drew 881,708 recreation visits in September 2026: 174,206 at Mount Rainier, 528,764 at Olympic and 4,170 at North Cascades. Three charts, not three lines.
Monday, October 26 — Seattle information-sector employment, September 2026. The Seattle metro’s information sector employed 132,100 people in September 2026, down 0.8% from a year earlier. That is 6.2% of every payroll job in the metro, against 6.3% a year before.
Tuesday, October 27 — Puget Sound, April 2026. The surface of central Puget Sound off Jefferson Head was 9.7°C in April 2026. The April average since 2000 is 9.5°C, with the warmest April at 11.6°C in 2005 and the coolest at 7.9°C in 2023.
Tuesday, October 27 — Seattle Fire 911 responses, September 2026. Seattle Fire dispatched 9,601 responses in September 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier.
Tuesday, October 27 — Seattle Fire overdose responses, September 2026. Seattle Fire was dispatched to 116 overdose calls in September 2026, up 5.5% from a year earlier. Across the series the monthly count has run between 68 (August 2022) and 233 (October 2023).
Wednesday, October 28 — Seattle building permits, September 2026. The Seattle metro permitted 19,477 housing units in the twelve months through September 2026, up 24.4% from the twelve months before. The twelve-month total peaked at 34,915 in June 1990 and bottomed at 7,138 in November 2009.
Wednesday, October 28 — Seattle-metro education and health jobs, September 2026. Seattle-metro education and health employers had 319,600 people on payroll in September 2026, up 3.1% from a year earlier. That is 14.9% of all payroll jobs in the metro, against 14.6% a year before.
Wednesday, October 28 — Seattle-metro professional services jobs, September 2026. Seattle-metro professional and business services employers had 384,300 people on payroll in September 2026, up 0.7% from a year earlier. That is 17.9% of all payroll jobs in the metro, against 18.0% a year before.
Thursday, October 29 — Seattle-metro finance jobs, September 2026. Seattle-metro financial activities employers had 97,500 people on payroll in September 2026, down 2.9% from a year earlier. That is 4.6% of all payroll jobs in the metro, against 4.7% a year before.
Thursday, October 29 — Seattle-metro trade and transport jobs, September 2026. Seattle-metro trade, transportation and utilities employers had 351,600 people on payroll in September 2026, up 0.7% from a year earlier. That is 16.4% of all payroll jobs in the metro, against 16.4% a year before.
Thursday, October 29 — Washington restaurant and hotel sales, Q3 2025. Washington’s restaurants, bars and other food services made $5.31 billion in taxable sales in Q3 2025. Hotels and other lodging made $1.54 billion.
Friday, October 30 — Seattle-metro government jobs, September 2026. Seattle-metro government employers had 282,400 people on payroll in September 2026, down 1.4% from a year earlier. That is 13.2% of all payroll jobs in the metro, against 13.5% a year before.
Friday, October 30 — Seattle library checkouts, August 2026. Seattle Public Library patrons checked out 888,922 items in August 2026, up 8.0% from a year earlier: 300,071 physical items and 588,851 digital ones.
Friday, October 30 — Washington jobless claims, week of Oct 24, 2026. Washington workers filed 5,260 initial unemployment claims in the week ending Oct 24, 2026; the steadier four-week average is 5,252, down 15.9% from the same weeks a year ago. Read the chart in two parts.
The week in review: every post from October 26–30, summarised from its own listing blurb and linked. Assembled each Saturday from the posts that actually published that week.