Testimony from Marilyn Watkins, Ph.D, Policy Director, EOI
For HB 5659, to the House Commerce and Labor Committee
Washington’s Good Economic News
- Jobs grew rapidly in 2005 and 2006
- Jobs grew in most sectors
- Jobs grew in most regions of the state
- Washington’s job growth rate (3.2% Nov. ‘05-Nov. ‘06) is well above the national average (1.1%)
- Washington’s lowest wage workers kept pace with inflation through the recession
- Nationally, productivity grew 3.1% annually 2000-2005
Washington’s Bad Economic News
- Recovery from recession is not complete –134,000 jobs short of level needed to match population growth
- Productivity growth has not gone to wages for the majority of workers
- Men earn less than in late 1990s
- Women’s earnings have just kept pace with inflation, and remain much lower
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