State’s economy to get worse

Washington state’s economy is bad and getting worse.  That’s the assessment of Dr. Arun Raha, director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

Speaking before the Washington Research Council , Raha said that Washingtons’ economy was falling faster than the nation as a whole.  He noted that real estate excise taxes were down 45 percent and retail sales were down significantly, mostly led by a decline in auto sales.

Raha said that Boeing sales were down 33 percent in the fourth quarter due primarily to the union strike.

He said that Boeing can make a difference in Washington state in a recession.  In the early 1980’s, when the recession was driven by the cost of lumber, Boeing gave the state some momentum.  But, in the 2001 recession, we lagged the nation in the state’s recovery since plane orders were down.

He didn’t see any recovery in the near future and said things will continue to be bad during this year and into next year.

(This article was taken in part from the Washington Information Network, published by the Washington Retail Association.)