| Economic Overview Links to 61 Grays Harbor County data sheets
For more information on Grays Harbor County (part of the Pacific Mountain Consortium), please see Regional Economists and the Areas They Serve.
Please note: some of the data used is in this narrative is from the updated historical information available at www.workforceexplorer.com. Click on “Quick Links,” and “Alphabetical list of site contents,” go to “Nonagricultural Employment (Nonfarm) - historical Excel.” This information is benchmarked quarterly and subject to change.
Once again, the economic downturn has thrown the county into shrinking payrolls and skyrocketing unemployment rates. The manufacturing sector that was helping provide materials for the residential building boom both in the state and nationally, became a victim to the housing crisis and all the bad numbers that came with it. With unemployment in 2009 averaging nearly double what it was in 2008, the local economy took its usual beating when the recession came to town. In late 2008, plant closures were the rule, as lumber mills and the like closed their doors, victim first of the national and then the state economy. With the closures came the loss of hundreds of high-wage jobs and their benefits. The initial shock – once gone – left the question where to find jobs for those impacted by these closures.
Outlook
Currently, the economic outlook appears grim, as payrolls shrink and unemployment rises. The 2009 summer travel season will be an indication of where this economy – not only locally, but statewide – may be heading. On the plus side is a looming, major pontoon-building project for the 520 bridge in King County. That project promises to bring hundreds of high wage jobs to the county, although the exact location and job numbers are difficult to pin down at this time. It does appear that this undertaking will be of help to the local economy once underway. |
