There’s a lot of bright spots in Washington State as far as jobs and economic opportunities are concerned. Buuuuuut, there’s plenty of storms brewing, too. It’s an unfortunate reality that ups and downs happen all the time, and we would be remiss if we didn’t report on both. So, let’s take a look…
Here are Five Fast Facts on job challenges in the Evergreen State:
- 🪨 📜 ✂️ Rock-Paper-Scissors - WestRock, a paper company in Tacoma, is closing a century-old mill and cutting over 400 jobs. Can a paper company “go digital” to save money…? 🤔
- 😣 But Wait, There’s More - Sadly, there are others cutting back across the state, too: Yellow Corp trucking (437 workers), Crothall Healthcare (174 workers), Cognizant software (93 workers), and Centerra security services (92 workers) have all announced jobs being cut in the next few weeks. So many Paychecks gone… 😭
- 🎯 A Big Target - Target is another brand shutting down stores. The Ballard and U-District stores will be closed, cutting 90 jobs (though those workers will supposedly be transferred to other locations) due to the rising cost of theft and vandalism (almost $3 billion in Washington State alone). Target is expecting to lose half a billion dollars this year in theft! That’s a LOT of full pockets walking out the door!
- ⚖️ Choices, Choices - To be fair, some of the challenges are self-inflicted by adopting policies that are known to make life more expensive. There’s a reason that Seattle, at least, is one of the most expensive places to live in the country! So maybe let’s stop doing those things, mm-kay?
- 💸 Rubber, Meet Road - All of these economic problems add up to big pain for our state’s residents. About 10% of households here officially qualify as meeting the poverty threshold, but when you look at how much money it takes to live here nowadays it’s actually more like 28% of families who are struggling to provide the basics.
🔥Bottom line: These are tough times, no doubt about it. But you gotta do what you gotta do, and sometimes that means making big changes to go after bigger Paychecks (or any Paycheck!) But if you’re feeling isolated and frustrated about bad things happening to just you…don’t. It’s tough for EVERYONE right now. Do your fellow Washingtonian a favor and help them out however you can. We’ll all be better off for it when we come through the tough times together!
What do you think should be done to help the state’s economy?
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