We like to keep an eye on unemployment news because that’s obviously one of the best indicators of folks’ Paychecks. Unfortunately, the latest news from Washington State isn’t good - much like Snoop Dogg, the unemployment rate is persistently high. Let’s check out the details.
Here are Five Fast Facts about Washington State’s unemployment:
- 😱 Comparing Rates - The unemployment rate for Washington State was 4.9% in June. The state’s largest metro area, Seattle, was around 4.6%. That doesn’t sound terrible until you compare it to the overall national average of 4.1%. We’re the 7th worst unemployment rate in the country.
- 😣 Recent History - It also looks bad when you compare to recent history. Seattle’s unemployment rate – the same as the national rate – was only 3.6% a year ago!
- 💻 High Tech Not So High - A lot of the problem is because of the Evergreen State’s high tech sector, which is one of the big driver’s of the state’s economy. That sector has seen a loss of almost 12,000 jobs over the last two years!
- 🤦 The Wrong Trend - The trend for Washington State is not good. We have the 49th worst rate of job loss over the last two years. Only Rhode Island is worse.
- ☠️ Tough Environment - For businesses, the struggle is real. The tax structure of the state has two lovely gems, the Business and Occupation tax (B&O) on gross receipts and a capital gains income tax. Both are part of every product or service sold in the state, and the B&O tax gets paid even if the business loses money.
🔥Bottom line: It sucks when things don’t go well. The good news is that when the reasons for not going well are completely within our control, it’s much easier to fix the problems! It sounds like we need lower taxes and fewer regulations to get businesses going again, and that will bring back the jobs! But will our elected leaders do it?
What do you think?
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