Pierce County 2013 Economic Forecast: Growing, Slowly

Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce released the 2013 Economic Forecast for Pierce County this morning at a 9am business breakfast. While the forecast doesn’t exactly call for astronomical growth, the overall message is positive.

University of Puget Sound economists Bruce Mann and Doug Goodman predict:

 
• The Pierce County economy will grow a little faster in 2013. The economy will expand by 2.8 percent, helped by growth in the military bases, at Boeing, in shipping, and in the health industry.

 
• But JOB growth will be SLOWER than in 2012, and it will be more competitive for jobseekers. Jobs will expand by 1.8 percent, less than the 2.1 percent growth in 2012. Plus about 1,000 additional people will be seeking work, as graduates enter the market and some discouraged jobseekers renew their search.

 
• Home sales will pick up by a healthy 7.6 percent, accelerating the 5.8 percent growth we saw in 2012.

Factors cited as driving growth include international trade and its associated activities; military, aerospace, education, and healthcare industry activity; and moderate growth in the construction sector. While international trade appears as a positive, it also shows up in the category titled “caveat,” which lists several potential “clouds on the horizon.” These include threats from the Euro-zone and Asian areas, as well as concerns over federal debt and deficit issues, wage pressures, and assumptions around Federal Reserve action. If you want the full economic forecast report, a PDF can be downloaded, and read more in the Pierce County 2013 Economic Forecast press release.

We see a lot of graphs with hopeful upward trends, and positive statistics. Things seem to be looking up… Can you feel it?