Washington Research Council

Kriss Sjoblom

February 19 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

New policy brief: Washington's Minimum Wage and Teenage Unemployment

We have posted a new policy brief, Washington’s Minimum Wage and Teenage Unemployment, which includes a chart I made for the last meeting of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers. Here’s a link to the brief.


February 13 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

New Policy Brief: Supporting Research and Development with Responsible Tax Policy

We have posted a new policy brief titled Supporting Research and Development with Responsible Tax Policy, which can be downloaded this link.  


February 11 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

January 11 – February 10 state revenue collections were $6.5 million above forecast

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update today. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the January 11 – February 10, 2014 collection period were $6.5 million (0.5%) higher than the November forecast. Cumulatively, collections are now $1.7 million (0.0%) […]


January 31 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

Map of Earned Income Tax Credit by County

Following up on Dick’s last post, the Brookings Institution website has a cool interactive map with data on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by county (click on image): In Washington state, King County has the smallest share of taxpayers taking the EITC (8.4%), while Yakima County has the highest share (22.3%). Brookings’s Ben […]


January 17 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

New policy brief: Toward a Thoughtful Review of Tax Policies

We have published a new brief titled Toward a Thoughtful Review of Tax Policies, which can be downloaded through this link.


January 13 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

Friday's job report

Last Friday’s report on U.S employment was disappointing. The preliminary estimate from the establishment survey showed that employers added only 74,000 jobs in December, well below the 200,000 jobs that had been expected. The estimate of November job growth was revised upward by 38,000 to 241,000. The separate household survey, from which the unemployment rate […]


January 13 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom

December 11 – January 10 state revenue collections were $8.8 million below forecast

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update today. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the December 11, 2013 – January 10, 2014 collection period were $8.8 million (0.7%) lower than the November forecast. Cumulatively, collections are now $4.8 million […]


December 18 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom

November employment report shows state lost 6,000 jobs from October to November

The state Employment Security Department issued its employment report for November this morning. The preliminary estimate is that seasonally adjusted employment in Washington fell by 6,000 from October to November. This followed  estimated declines of 7,400 from September to October and 1,400 from August to September. The estimated seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the state […]


December 11 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom

November 11 – December 10 state revenue collections beat forecast by $4 million

Every little bit helps. The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update today. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the November 11 – December 10, 2013 collection period were $4.0 million (0.2%) higher than the November forecast. Revenue Act collections […]


November 26 , 2013 - Kriss Sjoblom

Update on tech sector growth

Here is a brief update on growth in the tech sector, which we profiled in a special report a year ago (Washington’s Prosperity Depends on Vibrant Tech Sector). From 1990 to 2012, employment in the state grew by 725,500.  The tech sector directly accounted for 115,000 (16%) of these jobs. Another 336,500 (46%) of the […]