Our Northwest Economy

Tri-Cities Thrives in a Down Economy

RICHLAND, Wash. – Here are some job numbers hot off the calculator: The Tri-Cities in southcentral Washington had 34-hundred more non-farm jobs last December than it had in 2008. That adds up to 3-point-6 percent GROWTH -- during one of the greatest recessions our country has ever seen. Some of the Tri-Cities' prosperity is linked to the nearly 2-billion-dollars of federal stimulus money pouring into Hanford Nuclear Reservation. But experts say there is more to it than that.

Richland Correspondent Anna King explains.

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Hanford Stimulus

The Drop in Milk Prices: a Look at Northwest Dairy Farmers

(Flickr photo by icatus)  

“It’s bad,” remarks Mike Roth, an Idaho dairy farmer who owns and manages 10,000 cows on two farms in Jerome County. “This is a 1 in 40 year event,” he says, characterizing the dramatic drop in milk prices from their peak of $21.38 per hundredweight (100 lbs) in July of 2007 to a low of $9.31 this February. “This isn’t a single year loss”—one that dairy farmers will quickly recover after a few good years—“it’s going to take decades to get back what the industry lost.”

Utah's dip in foreclosure filings mirrors U.S. decline

The Salt Lake Tribune Staff And News Services

The number of homeowners on the brink of losing their homes in Utah and the rest of the nation dipped in October from the previous month as foreclosure-prevention programs helped more borrowers.

But foreclosure filings in Utah are still up nearly 33 percent year-over-year, which is higher than the national increase of 19 percent, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. The group that tracks filings nationwide said continued job losses aggravate the foreclosure problem.

The Paradox of Thrift: Becoming an Economy of Savers

 
(Flickr photo by andrewinpompey)

Host intro: What are the economic implications of becoming a more frugal society? Mary Hawkins spoke with WSU economist, Andrew Cassey, about how increased personal savings would impact our economy.

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