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.

Taxable retail sales in King County increased in the last quarter of 2011 to $10.9 billion, up $383 million in additional taxable sales over the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.6%, reflecting stronger holiday retail sales in 2011 than in 2010.

Inflation in Seattle increased 2.9% (annualized) for April 2012, a significant increase from 2011, driven by high gasoline prices, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This places Seattle well above the U.S. city average of 2.3%, a trend that has continued for two quarters.

Housing prices fell during the last quarter of 2011 at an average of 8.1% from the previous quarter for homes and condominiums. The decrease reflected both a seasonal pattern in the fourth quarter as well as an overall down year from 2010.