Northwest Economic Insight – May 2012

President’s Outlook

News headlines about the economic recovery seem to change hourly: one minute the recovery is hitting its stride, the next it’s stalled. Each new bit of data brings with it a new spin on whether we’re fighting our way out of the Great Recession or just treading water. But based on what we’re seeing “on the ground” at the EDC, I have more and more reasons to believe that our recovery is progressing and heading in the right direction. Our local economy is quite different from that of other metro areas around the country and, in this most recent cycle, has come out of the downturn ahead of most other regions. The industries our market is built on—those competing in the technology-, knowledge- and international-based economy—are the industries that are leading this region and the country back to prosperity.

Investor Campaign: Taking the EDC to the Next Level

By: David Allen, Investor Campaign Chair and Executive Vice President, McKinstry

the EDC has earned its role as the leading economic development organization in the region through hard work, innovation, expertise, and collaboration. I have been involved with the organization for almost eight years and during that time, we have built the organization into an effective, successful business development engine that works on behalf of the King County area to grow our economy. Think what we could do to truly impact our local economy and add jobs if instead of 100 members we had 200, 300 or even 500.

By the Numbers: Economic Indicators for King County

By: Chris Mefford, President, Community Attributes

Newly released employment data for King County show 5,000 adjusted jobs added to the region in the first three months of 2012, representing a 0.5% increase in total jobs during the past quarter (non-seasonally adjusted; 2.0% annualized growth). However, seasonally adjusted unemployment rates continue to fall, with Seattle MSA unemployment rates at 7.6%, a 0.5% drop since December of 2011. At the same time, more people are moving into King County. March 2012 license transfers into King County, an indicator of in-migration, show an increase of nearly 16% compared to March of 2011.

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Clean Tech Sector Shows its Strength

The Clean Technology program has seen a good amount of new activity over the past few months, a probable indication that the sector is coming out of the recession. New companies include: ClimaCover, a manufacturer and supplier of flood and erosion control materials and products, as well as tarps for household use; RainRock, a manufacturer of specialty pots and frames for gardens, pervious paving blocks, and building products, all made from recycled materials; and Northwest Wind Power, designer and manufacturer of residential and small commercial scale windmills with a unique vertical orientation.

Another Bright Spot in the Economy: Life Science

The life science cluster is thriving in Washington State, up almost 10,000 employees between 2007 and 2011 according to a study by the Washington Research Foundation. That’s about 33,000 high quality primary jobs! the EDC continues to play a significant role in this expanding job-rich industry by directly incubating companies through Cascadia MedTech, case management, and volunteer service on the boards of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association and Biomedical Manufacturing Partnership Zone.

Interactive Media Accelerator Grant Underway

Last fall, it was announced that the EDC received a $1.2 million grant to create the Washington Interactive Media Accelerator. For purposes of the grant, the term accelerator refers to accelerating an industry. The Accelerator will not only be incubating and mentoring young companies, it will also be creating a new education and internship program to close the gap between education and industry.

Washington State Financial Services Summit

the EDC and the Washington State Financial Services Collaborative officially released the Strategic Plan for the Financial Services Industry at the second annual Washington State Financial Services Summit held May 1, 2012, at The Harbor Club Seattle. Washington Financial Services Institutions (DFI) Director Scott Jarvis was the featured speaker at this year’s Summit.