Washington State: Bordering On Recession

A recent Moody's report says that out of all 50 states, Washington is one of the ones getting an economic side-eye - it's either in a recession, or barely struggling to avoid one!

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Here are Five Fast Facts about Washington State's recession status:

1. 🙈 Almost Half - Washington is on the list of 22 states that are in or super close to a recession - yikes, that's almost half the country feeling the pinch!

2. 🤦 Not Looking Good - The state might add only a puny 11k jobs in 2025 and a big fat zero jobs in 2026. That's not just a frozen market, it's a glacial deep freeze!

3. 🧦 Segmentation - Jobs are only growing in the healthcare and hospitality (doctors and hotels, basically) segments, while usual big shots like construction, manufacturing, tech, finance, and government are straight-up losing jobs faster than you lose socks in the dryer.

4. 😣 Well, Duh - Everything costs a ton in Washington - it's one of the highest cost-of-living spots in the U.S., with sky-high prices for gas, groceries, rent, insurance, childcare, and breathing making wallets cry. But if you live here, you already know that.

5. 🎂 Risky Business - The Dem-led legislature and Gov. Bob Ferguson just enacted the biggest tax increase ever in state history in 2025, pouring salt on an already expensive wound. Cake is the one thing that's still pretty cheap in the state, at least according to them.

🔥Bottom line: Washington's economic scene is like Seattle's weather: bits of sun here and there but a lot of gray and rainy. With no new jobs coming and prices rising like a helium balloon, there's no quick "fix it" button, either. More taxes just stifles the kind of job growth that is desperately needed to stay out of a recession, and normal folks and businesses have made it clear that more taxes aren't the play...but state lawmakers are still headed in that direction. Until voters give a slapdown at the ballot box, this seems likely to continue. The question is: how much pain will Washingtonians be willing to endure, and at what point will it go from pain into an actual recession? We’ll find out, apparently.

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