News and perspective on public policy issues affecting Washington's economy and quality of life, brought to you by the Economic Opportunity Institute.
It has been four years since the Great Recession began taking its toll on Washington’s economy. Today, it’s difficult to be even cautiously optimistic about news of recent growth. Revised employment numbers show nearly 2% growth for Washington’s industries in 2011. Given 2010’s 0.8% growth rate, you could call this is a step in the [...]
Unemployment remains persistently high, despite the “official” end of the recession in June of 2009. But recent improvements in the overall unemployment rate don’t tell the whole story. The “shadow” unemployment rate, which includes unemployed, underemployed, underutilized and discouraged workers, is a more accurate representation, including workers who have given up looking for jobs, and those who [...]
From the Seattle Business Magazine | By John Levesque Now is not the time for Washington state to scale back on providing a decent living wage. You probably heard this one before: Having a job is the new raise. True enough. In this desultory economy, few workers are likely to barge into the boss’s office [...]
Tune in to KUOW’s The Conversation with Ross Reynolds today at noon (or a little after) to hear John Burbank, EOI’s Executive Director, talk about how government spending and stimulus has helped to create and sustain tens of thousands of jobs in Washington state during the recession.
Recent Comments