Monica Nickelsburg
AI & Economy Reporter
About
Monica Nickelsburg covers artificial intelligence, tech, and the local economy in the Pacific Northwest.
Monica came to KUOW in 2023. Before that, she spent six years covering the intersection of technology and politics for GeekWire and worked as a digital producer for The Week.
Monica grew up in Los Angeles and got her B.A. in Journalism and History from New York University before landing in Seattle.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: she/her
Podcasts
Stories
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How Seattleites are coping with the high cost of groceries
Groceries in the Seattle region are about 30% more expensive than they were before the pandemic, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics annual index. It’s a price hike most major cities are grappling with, but in a high-cost-of-living place like Seattle, the pressure on family budgets can be especially acute.
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Grocery sticker shock and the rise of the dollar-store dinner
Creative hacks for putting food on the table now that your dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to.
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Could the hottest real estate market become... driveways?
State legislators want to make it legal to live in an RV in someone’s backyard or driveway year-round. Could that reduce the state's housing shortage?
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Bellevue becomes destination for AI companies
Bellevue, Wash., is becoming an artificial intelligence hub as OpenAI and xAI look to establish outposts on the Eastside.
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The great data center space race
Data centers needed more space, so they literally moved there.
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Amazon layoffs include more than 2,000 jobs in Seattle area
The impacts of Amazon’s latest mass layoffs are starting to come into focus for the Seattle area, while other local companies also cut jobs.
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16,000 Amazon employees just lost their jobs. Are we in a tech recession?
It's the latest in a series of tech layoffs over the past few years that have pushed Seattle’s unemployment rate well above the national rate.
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Amazon lays off 16,000 employees in major reduction of force
Amazon told about 16,000 corporate employees they’ll soon be out of a job early Wednesday morning. It’s part two of a 30,000-person layoff the company began in October. Taken together, it’s the largest layoff in the e-commerce giant’s history, and it marks a dramatic shift in the tech industry from a decade-long talent war to the artificial intelligence race.
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Tech layoffs drive Seattle-area unemployment above 5%
The first major tech layoff of 2026 hit Seattle-area workers at Meta this week. About 330 roles at the social networking giant were eliminated, according to a filing with the Washington Employment Security Department. It’s the latest in a series of tech layoffs, and more cuts are expected across the industry in the coming weeks.
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Lessons from the state that made child care free
In November, New Mexico became the first state to launch free, universal child care. So what can Washington learn from the state that managed to pull it off?