The stalemate in Olympia over Washington state’s budget represents an ideological divide that won’t be overcome by negotiators sitting long enough in a room together. And unfortunately, neither side has proposed a budget and revenue package that would actually fully…
New research illustrates why women in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community are at higher risk of for poverty and economic insecurity: discrimination and stigma, compounded by the struggles faced by all women in their jobs, provision of health care, and…
Women’s work is central to our economy. Most households couldn’t make ends meet without women’s income. Yet, women make less than men across every occupation. Because employers find ways to pay women less, families struggle to pay their bills, and…
“When you have kids at home that look up to you, you have to try every day. It can be a struggle.” As the sole breadwinner for her family of four young children, Ashley can’t afford not to work. She’s…
Last summer, a respected policy expert from the Brookings Institution spoke at a large meeting. He introduced himself, saying that he works with a lot of brilliant economists who can’t understand why the recovery is so slow. Nobel laureate economist…
As Washington voters consider their ballots in the final days of election season, there’s no doubt many are thinking about the economy. So where does Washington’s economy stand? Economic growth has finally begun to accelerate in 2012, with most sectors…
Recently the Employment Security Department released its latest unemployment numbers for Washington: 8.6% unemployment in August – up from 8.5% in July and 8.3% in June. We would expect to see a concurrent fall in jobs numbers. Fewer jobs mean…
Standing inside a crater, it looks like mountains surround you. But if you climb out to get a better view, you can see it’s actually a huge hole in the ground. That’s pretty analogous to what the Wall Street implosion…
It has been four years since the Great Recession began taking its toll on Washington’s economy. Today, it’s difficult to be even cautiously optimistic about news of recent growth. Revised employment numbers show nearly 2% growth for Washington’s industries in…
Unemployment remains persistently high, despite the “official” end of the recession in June of 2009. But recent improvements in the overall unemployment rate don’t tell the whole story. The “shadow” unemployment rate, which includes unemployed, underemployed, underutilized and discouraged workers, is a…
