By Jim Cline

The March 2013 report of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council  identifies the continued mixed economic signals from both the National and State economy. The key findings of the Council for the National economy included:

[Read more…]

By Christopher Casillas

The Washington State Employment Security Department released its monthly employment report for Feburary 2013 today, confirming that a recent trend in new jobs and a drop in the unemployment rate is no mirage, and may be gathering steam.  The headline numbers indicate that the State, particularly the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett region, is seeing a strong rebound in new jobs, specifically: [Read more…]

By Christopher Casillas

The State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released its updated March revenue report and forecast today, showing some improvements in the State’s budget for the current biennium.  The revenue forecast for the current biennium has been increased by $58.8 million by the Council.  This reports an improvement over the November 2012 forecast, based on an increase in likely tax collections during the current biennium.  The State now predicts that revenue into its General Fund for the 2011-2013 biennium, will most likely come in at $30.536 billion.  The Council noted that uncertainty remains high due to unknown economic impacts, like the federal sequestration, as well as ongoing economic crises around the globe.