Is The Washington Economy Really In Trouble?

Statistics. We love statistics, and the reason we love statistics is because we can make them pretty much say anything we want. Just a few days ago I did a story about how Washington State is number one for new business startups survival in the first year. (About 84%, That's a great number.) 

Now we have some new statistics that talk about the potential for recession. The results of this study are not so great. 

According to msn.com,
‘The U.S. economy is very close to falling into a damaging contraction — and many states are already experiencing a recession, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Zandi estimates that 22 states plus the District of Columbia are now experiencing persistent economic weakness and job losses that are likely to continue. Another 13 states are treading water, he noted.’ 

Among the states that are ‘barely treading’ water as the article says is California And New York.  

This study goes on to state that there are 22 states that are already in a “state of recession”, and in that group of 22 states that are already in recession, according to the article, I'm sad to say one of those states is Washington. Now, on a personal level, it doesn't feel like Washington state is in recession to me. In fact, it feels like Washington State is doing pretty well. But Mark Zandi says It's not about consumer spending or GDP; it's about the job market. 

Another economic expert Richard Moody, who is the chief economist at Regions Bank says that “nothing Suggests that the economy is rolling over”. Again, to my way of thinking, we all have the same statistics, but depending on the angle that you look at them, they can mean pretty much anything you want. 

What is really happening to Washington State's economy? I have no idea. I'm probably just like you. We're going to sit back and we're going to find out together.
Are we in a recession? Yes — if you live in one of these 22 states.