Blog

Spokane won't vote on two local initiatives curbing business speech and erecting regulatory hurdles

We’ve paid a lot of attention to SeaTac’s Prop. 1, establishing a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave for some workers. Our special report on the measure is here. Less noticed on the west side of the state has been the efforts of a couple of groups in Spokane to establish a community bill […]

Goethe on trade and transportation

In Export Activity Boosts Washington’s Economy, the second part of our series Trade and Transportation, we look at export activity and the ports. There is stiff competition among ports for export business. Traditionally, Washington’s biggest competitors have been other ports on the U.S. west coast. . . . Washington’s ports face additional competition on the […]

New policy brief: Export Activity Boosts Washington’s Economy

We have posted a new policy brief titled Export Activity Boosts Washington’s Economy. The brief can be downloaded through this link. This is the second brief in our series Trade and Transportation.

Special report: Proposition 1 and the "Living Wage Movement" in SeaTac: Increasing Unemployment, Decreasing Opportunity

A proposal on the November ballot in SeaTac would establish a $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave benefits, and impose restrictions on employers’ labor practices. In a new special report, we consider the economic effects of Proposition 1. Our five main findings are: Approximately 5 percent of low wage jobs will be lost. Another […]

Preliminary estimates: state gained 8,800 jobs from June to July, July unemployment rate was 6.9 percent

The state employment security department (ESD) released the monthly employment report today. The preliminary estimates are that the state added 8,800 jobs (seasonally adjusted) between June and July and that the unemployment rate in July was 6.9 percent (seasonally adjusted). The estimate of the number of jobs added from May to June was increased from […]

July 11 to August 10 state revenue collections beat forecast by $72.6 million

The economic and revenue forecast council’s monthly Economic & Revenue Update brought a bit of good news today. Here are the key bullet points regarding revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the July 11 – August 10, 2013 collection period were $72.6 million (6.2%) higher than the June forecast. The June […]

Preliminary estimates: state gained 9,800 jobs from May to June, June unemployment rate was 6.8 percent

The state employment security department released the monthly employment report today. The preliminary estimates are that the state added 9,800 jobs (seasonally adjusted) between May and June and that the unemployment rate in June was 6.8 percent (seasonally adjusted). The estimate of the number of jobs added from April to May was increased from 4,100 […]

June 11 to July 10 state revenue collections beat forecast by $7.5 million

The economic and revenue forecast council today issued its monthly Economic & Revenue Update. This provides the first report on collections since the June 18 revision to the revenue forecast. The new forecast is essentially on track: For the June 11 to July 10 period, collections exceeded forecast by $7.5 million (0.6%). The update is […]

Preliminary estimates: state gained 4,100 jobs from April to May, May unemployment rate was 6.8 percent

The state employment security department released the monthly employment report today. The preliminary estimates are that the state added 4,100 jobs (seasonally adjusted) between April and May and that the unemployment rate in May was 6.8 percent (seasonally adjusted). The estimate of the number of jobs added from March to April was decreased from 3,800 […]

Video of today's Economic and Revenue Forecast Council meeting

Video from TVW: Here are the slides from Steve Lerch’s presentation.