Kriss Sjoblom

April 11 to May 10 general fund-state revenue collections were $7.6 million less than forecasted

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s monthly Economic & Revenue Update is out today. For the April 11 to May 10 month, general fund–state revenue collections were a modest $7.6 million less than the forecast. For the three-month period from February 11 to May 10, collections are cumulatively $9.6 million greater than the forecast. The […]

Employment Report Shows State Added 3,300 Jobs in March; February Gain Revised Up to 4,800

The state Employment Security Department released the Monthly Employment Report yesterday. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s preliminary estimate, the state added 3,300 jobs from February to March. The January to February estimate was revised up by 600 to show a gain 4,800 jobs. The preliminary estimate of the March unemployment rate is […]

Outlook for 2013-15 Under the Budget Passed by the Legislature

A number of folks have inquired about the budgetary outlook for the 2013–15 biennium under the supplemental budget passed last week by the legislature. The Office of Financial Management, I have been told, will prepare a 2015–15 outlook after Governor Gregoire completes her actions on bills passed in the session. Until the formal OFM outlook […]

March 11 – April 10 State Revenues $24.9 Million Above Forecast

Hours after legislators decamped from the capital, the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s monthly Economic and Revenue Update provided a bit of fiscal good news: Collections for the March 11 – April 10 period were $24.9 million above forecast. Collections for the preceding February 11 – March 10 period (reported on March 12) were […]

State-Run Pensions: Reform Early Retirement

Pensions remain one of three reform issues holding up completion of the supplemental budget. In an earlier post, Emily described the pension reform bill passed by the Senate during the regular session. The most recent public proposal from the Senate Republican-Democrat coalition is narrower, focusing solely on early retirement (see the Baumgartner amendment here). Normal […]

Updated Rough Outlook for 2013-15

Here is an update to the rough “Outlook” for the 2013-15 biennium that I posted on March 10. The two largest changes from the previous version involve the treatment of the Senate’s suspension of contributions to the “Plan 1” pension plan (which had the effect of reducing the 2015 ending balance for the Senate budget […]

Preliminary Employment Estimates Show 4,200 Jobs Added in Washington in February, Estimate of January Gain Reduced

The state Employment Security Department today issued its Monthly Employment Report for February. The preliminary estimates are that the state added 4,200 nonfarm jobs (seasonally adjusted) from January to February and that the unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) for the state stood at 8.2 percent in February (down from a revised 8.4 percent in January). Because […]

Initial Monthly Estimates of Washington Employment Are Subject to Error

The state’s Employment Security Department (ESD) releases monthly estimates of the number of nonfarm jobs in the state. (The schedule for this year’s releases is here.) These estimates are prepared in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Employment Statistics program (CES). By their nature, these survey-based estimates are subject to considerable […]

Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Down

Unemployment insurance claims data are released every Thursday. This week’s report was a good one: Nationally, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 14,000 to 351,000, while the four-week moving average was unchanged at 355,750. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) press release is here. Calculate Risk has charts here. The numbers for […]

February 11 – March 10 state revenue collections were $7.7 million less than forecast

The monthly collections report is out today. The headline number is not too bad: “Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the February 11 – March 10, 2012 collection period were $7.7 million … lower than the February forecast." However, the underlying detail is weaker than the headline: "Revenue Act collections for the current period came […]