New Policy Brief: Great Recession and Not So Great Recovery–Job Losses and Gains by Sector
The Research Council has posted a new Policy Brief “Great Recession and Not So Great Recovery: Job Losses and Gains by Sector.” The brief can be downloaded here.
October 09 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
Washington ranks 6th in Tax Foundation's index of business tax climates
The Tax Foundation today released its annual study of state business tax climates. As usual, Washington ranks in the top 10 best. We were 6th this year, 7th last year, and 8th the year before. As we wrote last year, regarding the 2012 rankings, the TF methodology favors states without an income tax. The […]
October 05 , 2012 - Emily Makings
In Washington, 40 Percent of Jobs are Trade-Related
Earlier this week, the Washington Council on International Trade (WCIT) and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle (TDA) released “An International Competitiveness Strategy for Washington State.” The really interesting part of the strategy is its update of the “one in three jobs in Washington are trade-related” statistic (which dates to 1999). Now, according to […]
September 19 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
September revenue forecast unchanged
Today’s revenue forecast remains essentially unchanged. From the press release: In the three months since the June forecast, U.S. economic activity has generally been in line with the baseline scenario. We continue to see slow growth, high unemployment and weak confidence. Despite the relatively small changes in the economic forecast, the level of downside uncertainty […]
September 11 , 2012 - Kriss Sjoblom
August 11 to September 10 general fund-state revenue collections were $1.1 million less than anticipated
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update today. For the August 11 to September period, general fund-state collections were a scant $1.1 million less than anticipated in the most recent official forecast, which was issued in June. For the last three months combined, revenues exceeded the forecast by $20.1 […]
September 10 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
Seattle ranks No. 40 on new economic index
According to the On Numbers Economic Index, Seattle ranks 40th in the nation, well behind top performers Oklahoma City, Autin and Omaha. The index is a product of American City Business Journals, which publishes regional business journals across the country, including the Puget Sound Buxiness Journal. The American economy is strongest in the heartland. Oklahoma […]
August 16 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
Jobless rate climbs to 8.5%, but some good news for retail
Washington’s unemployment rate jumped from 8.3 percent to 8.5 percent, as reported by the employment security department, which may want to consider a name change if this keeps up. OLYMPIA – Preliminary estimates of the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and job numbers in Washington last month are seemingly at odds again, similar to the national […]
August 14 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
"Brainpower is spreading out:" More cities attracting the college educated
In the New Geography, Joel Kotkin reports that America’s college graduates are increasingly found outside the dominant metro areas. …The New York Times recently opined that “college graduates gravitate to places with many other college graduates and the atmosphere that creates.” Yet an analysis of Census data shared with Forbes by demographer Wendell Cox tells a different story. […]
August 14 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
WA and CA only states showing negative FY12 balance in NCSL budget update
While it’s not necessarily cause for alarm, the negative balances reported in the 2012 state budget update isn’t the happy news one hopes for in these things. As the National Conference of State Legislature’s notes: In Washington, FY 2012 marks the midpoint of the biennium; the shortfall will be eliminated over the remainder of the […]
August 13 , 2012 - Richard S. Davis
August revenue collections report shows taxes track with forecast
Today’s revenue collections report, though possibly foreshadowing a softening, shows receipts continuing to track the June forecast. The press release has the yin and yang. It’s a good news/bad news thing. Major General Fund-State (GF-S) revenue collections were $45.0 million (3.8%) lower than the June forecast, but cumulative receipts for the last two months are […]