Our economy is strong; let’s keep moving forward
We enter 2017 with a good deal of uncertainty about our nation and the world, but Washington’s economy is strong. Our GDP in the first quarter of 2016 grew three times faster than the national rate, and we’ve outpaced the nation as a whole for four years running, growing 8.1% compared to 6.5% from 2012-15.
Business Insider magazine ranked us #1 in the nation for business, and we ranked #1 for technology and innovation in CNBC’s Top States for Business rankings.
We added 290,000 jobs since 2013, and that’s not all in Seattle. For the time in eight years, unemployment was down to single digits in every county in the state. The final Bureau of Labor Statistics report for 2016 showed we added jobs at a faster rate (3.1 percent) than 48 other states last year.
However, we know jobs and prosperity are still unevenly distributed throughout the state. We must continue striving to make sure no community is left behind.