Established in 1993, The Puget Sound Economic Forecaster is a quarterly report published by the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University which acquired the publication in 2017 from its founders, Conway Pedersen Economics, Inc.
The report and website are designed for business executives, marketing directors, investors, government managers, and researchers who need a professional and objective view on the economic prospects for the Puget Sound region (King County, Kitsap County, Pierce County, and Snohomish County).
Our goal is to provide accurate and well-reasoned forecasts for the region as well as clear and insightful observations on important developments in the economy.
Each report contains a summary forecast, in-depth discussion of the regional outlook, forecasts and analyses of retail sales and construction and real estate, a special topic (e.g., China and Population Change), a detailed forecast table, and the Puget Sound Index of Leading Economic Indicators.
To facilitate research and analysis on the regional economy, every issue of the regional economic report is archived as a downloadable PDF file in the Subscriber Area. A comprehensive Subject Index of the archived reports has been developed to aid in the retrieval of information.
Reports are posted to the web site one to two weeks before the printed copy is mailed.
With thoughts of the long warm days of summer on our minds, we have found ourselves interrupted pondering about the price of avocados and how the latest round of tariff threats that may impact retail sales and the general economy overall. Thoughts of spending time at the lake or river have found us considering stream flows and how the change in our climate may impact all of the people and businesses that rely on water in one way or another. Daydreams of patio and deck BBQs have caused us to reflect on changes in house prices and the sudden growth in sales outside of the King County – is it more commuters or are jobs moving? Will the Seattle to Everett corridor retain its worst traffic in the nation ranking? Evidently, economists are bad at not thinking about things. All of the above is ahead in this edition of the Forecaster plus a better understanding of workforce participation and the state forecast. We will just call it the beach edition.
This year, the dollar has fallen more than 10%, marking its worst decline in the first six months of a year since 1973. Economic confidence has been shaken by various factors, including tariffs and the country’s rising debt, which is expected to increase further due to the GOP megabill that Congress passed. 💵 Foreign investors have distanced themselves from the currency by selling American stocks and bonds, causing the dollar to decline. When they dump shares in a company, they sell the dollar and convert it back to their home currency. 💵 A weaker dollar makes traveling abroad more expensive for Americans. But it is good for domestic tourism. It is also good for exporters like Apple, which earns a large portion of its revenue in other countries. 💵 The decline in the dollar’s value would make foreign products a little more expensive, which would give domestic manufacturers a leg up. 💵 In the coming decade or two, the world may see a tri-polar system as the euro, the Chinese yuan and cryptocurrencies emerge to challenge the dollar's dominance. Read more at NPR: https://buff.ly/zVvqzoe
We receive a wide-range of questions every day and would love to hear yours. Questions lead to data and data should lead to better questions.
Past topics include regional growth, labor productivity, demographic trends, inflation, multipliers, entrepreneurs, and state and local taxes.
Web site subscribers currently have access to more than fifty special topics. Here are four examples drawn from the Special Topic Archive: