Economy

Top state for workers and business: Washington is consistently ranked among the best state in the nation for workers and for businesses. The U.S. News and World Report has named it a top 10 state overall for several years running, while Wallet Hub has called it the nation’s best economy for three years in a row. Other news publications have cited WA’s as being among the best states for need-based higher education financial aid packages, affordable health care and affordability for working parents.

Workers' rights: In the 2024 session, the Legislature prohibited “captive audiences,” a tactic used by employers to bust unions and impress political or religious views. Inslee as also supported successful bills to improve working conditions for women in construction and expand wage discrimination protections. New protections for warehouse workers and updated heat protection rules also went into effect.

Career-connected learning: The final state capital budget included $68 million for career and technical education facilities in Washington high schools. The funding supports apprenticeships and educational opportunities in a variety of fields, including climate resilience, teaching, trades and health care among other fields. Nearly 17,000 Washington students are now enrolled in registered apprenticeships through Career Connect Washington.

5 years of Paid Leave: Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program surpassed 200 million hours of leave granted to supplant lost wages for Washington workers give birth, recover from medical episodes, care for family members, or spend time with loved ones soon to deploy. PFML has helped a half-million Washingtonians since launching five years ago.

Working Families Tax Credit: The Working Families Tax Credit is helping low- and middle-income families: more than 100,000 Washingtonians received a tax rebate of $763 on average through the program’s first year in 2023.

• Washington continues to rank among the best states in the nation for business and workers. U.S. News & World Report ranks Washington #2 overall in its 2023 Best States rankings. WalletHub ranks Washington’s economy best in the nation.
• The governor and Legislature took historic action to address housing affordability and supply. They passed several important policies to address zoning and permitting for housing construction. Operating and capital budgets include more than $1 billion for housing, including funds to support construction of 13,200 affordable housing units over six years, and services and emergency housing for 2,000 people.
• Dozens of projects are funded to meet the state’s goal of universal broadband access by 2028. Funding for projects around the state is provided by the Washington Public Works Board and Washington State Broadband Office.

• Washington continues to rank among the best states in the nation for business and workers. WalletHub ranks Washington’s economy best in the nation. CNBC ranks Washington #2 Top State for Business. Oxfam ranks Washington #3 Best State To Work In.
• Washington has the nation’s third-highest union membership rate. Eighteen percent of Washington’s employed workers are in a union compared to 10% nationally.
• The U.S. Department of State, Washington state and City of Seattle announced that Seattle will host the third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ and Ministerial meetings in August 2023. It will be the first time in 30 years that Washington last hosted APEC, on Blake Island.
• Gov. Jay Inslee hosted a trade mission to several Nordic countries to promote business partnerships that strengthen the state’s clean tech sector, 5G and 6G innovation clusters, practices to help people who are incarcerated with successful community re-entry, and promote the state’s effort to build its circular economy and launch a new Industrial Symbiosis Program.
• Washington state won a $23.5 million Good Jobs Challenge grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support the state’s career connected training system. Apprenticeship and technical training programs are a significant part of the state’s efforts to connect students to good-paying jobs.
• Washington launched a new Washington State Manufacturing Council, created with a goal of doubling the number of small manufacturing firms in Washington and adding 300,000 new manufacturing jobs over the next ten years.

• #1 state ranking by U.S. News & World Report as best state. It’s the third year the state has earned the top ranking. The report cites Washington’s broadband access and economic growth as top factors.
• Progressive tax reforms including passage of a new capital gains tax and a Working Families Tax Credit to provide tax rebates to low-income families beginning in 2023.
• Historic funding for broadband infrastructure and digital equity and inclusion efforts. The investments support the state’s efforts to provide universal high-speed broadband access by 2028.
• COVID-19 relief efforts included SB 5061, which increased minimum unemployment benefits for workers and provided significant tax relief for businesses over five years, to support recovery from the economic impacts of COVID shutdowns. The legislation, which was requested by the governor, was a critical piece of the state’s COVID-19 recovery plan. It passed with strong bipartisan support. Inslee also signed HB 1368 which appropriated $2.2 billion in federal funding to help schools, child care provider, food banks, assistance for tenants and immigrants, and more.

• Launch of new Washington State Broadband Office. The office coordinates efforts related to digital equity and building out broadband infrastructure so Washington can achieve its goal of universal high-speed broadband access by 2028.
• Numerous programs and investments to help thousands of small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistance included multiple rounds of a Working Washington Small Business grant program, a new small business resiliency network to provide culturally- and linguistically-relevant business support, and a low-interest Flex Fund loan program.
• #1 state ranking for working families during COVID-19 by Oxfam. Protections and support for workers impacted by COVID-19 included significant expansion of unemployment benefits, expanded legal protections for high-risk employees and frontline workers, a relief fund for immigrant workers who couldn’t qualify for federal programs, and a moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs.

• Keep Washington Working. The legislature passed a bill, supported by the governor and building on his 2017 executive order affirming the rights and contributions of immigrants in Washington state. The legislation establishes a statewide policy supporting immigrants’ role in the economy and makes clear that state agency and local law enforcement resources will not be commandeered for purposes of federal immigration enforcement.
• Best state rankings. U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington the best state in the country in May 2019. The publication evaluated all 50 states across a range of criteria, including education, health care, infrastructure and the economy. The report emphasized Washington’s thriving technology sector as well as the state’s aggressive efforts to promote clean, affordable energy. Washington also appears regularly at the top of favorable rankings from other organizations, especially those related to economic opportunity. Last year, CNBC named Washington the Top State for Business, WalletHub listed Washington as the state with the best economy, and Oxfam, an organization that aims to end poverty, also gave high marks to Washington state for being the best state for workers.
• Statewide broadband. After a statewide tour last year, Gov. Inslee proposed a bill to provide broadband internet service to communities throughout Washington. The bill, passed by the legislature, creates a new Statewide Broadband Office to serve as the central planning and coordinating body for public and private efforts to ensure broadband is available in every community. Affordable and quality broadband is crucial to support businesses and jobs and provide education and health care opportunities for people throughout the state.
• Career Connect Washington. Legislators provided funds for the next steps of Inslee’s Career Connect Washington initiative. Career-connected learning gives students more pathways to good-paying careers through a statewide system for apprenticeship, internship and mentorship learning. Inslee set a goal to connect 100,000 Washington students with career-connect learning opportunities by 2027. The legislature funded these investments with a targeted surcharge agreed to by business leaders. These business leaders depend on the state’s colleges and universities to train and educate students for careers.

• State-wide broadband access. In 2018, there was progress on broadband throughout the state that will help create jobs, improve public safety, increase education opportunities and support good access to healthcare options. The governor:
  • Helped secure $10M in community economic revitalization funds for rural broadband deployment.
  • Secured another $800K for broadband in LaPush, a remote and underserved part of the Quileute Nation that is vulnerable to seismic and tsunami hazards.
  • HB 2664 allows more ports to supply wholesale broadband service.
  • SB 6034 allows Kitsap PUD to provide retail broadband service to its customers, particularly in Suquamish, Poulsbo, Hansville and Stavis Bay.
• Equal pay. Under the Equal Pay Opportunity Act, signed by the governor in March 2018, employees are legally required to receive equal pay and career advancement opportunities, regardless of gender. The new regulations update Washington’s equal pay law, which was established in 1943.
• Grant funding. Job shadowing, internships and apprenticeships are just a few of the career connections that are available to 29,000 students thanks to $6.4 million in new Career Connect Washington grant funding. Opportunities include STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning experiences, job shadows at local employers, career planning, and over 4,800 new internships, pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships.

• Economic Gardening is a new initiative from the state Department of Commerce that helps local companies grow and succeed across the state that supports growth companies. The program was created when the governor signed SB 6100.

• Transportation investment package. Gov. Inslee brokered a 16-year, $16 billion “Connecting Washington” transportation investment package that will create ~200,000 jobs and includes:
  • Road and safety projects around the state including megaprojects like SR 520 bridge, the North Spokane Corridor, SR 167/SR 509 Gateway Project, and widening of I-5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
  • Highway maintenance and preservation
  • Non-highway projects like bike paths, rail and transit
  • Funding for ferries including a fourth Olympic Class Ferry Vessel
  • Authorization for Sound Transit to seek voter-approval for $15 billion to extend light rail to Everett, Tacoma and Redmond
  • Investments related to fish barrier removal, bridge preservation, freight rail improvements, electric vehicle and alternative fuel tax credits and commute trip reduction programs
• Diversity in business. Gov. Inslee convened a new subcabinet focused on increasing access for small and minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses to contracting opportunities with Washington state government.
• Strategic planning for military downsizing. In June 2015, Gov. Inslee formed a Subcabinet on Military Downsizing to address possible reductions in military force in the state. The Subcabinet will create a coordinated strategic plan to respond to and mitigate potential military reduction impacts on local communities in Washington.
• Tax incentives.
  • Food processors play a vital role in converting Washington raw materials into finished goods that feed our state and beyond. By extending tax incentives for food processors, we support rural areas and keep manufacturing jobs in Washington (SB 6057).
  • Data center tax incentives promote rural economic development, create jobs in rural areas and generate tax revenues for local and state government (SB 6057).

• Economic development. Gov. Inslee reconvened the Washington Military Alliance to strengthen Washington’s $15.7 billion military sector and plan for Department of Defense reductions. The alliance is a diverse group of more than 20 military and economic development leaders representing industry, infrastructure, veteran, workforce and economic development interests across the state.
• Better business.
  • Gov. Inslee worked with business partners to develop the nation’s first Regulatory Red Tape Index to promote better customer service to businesses.
  • Gov. Inslee and the Department of Commerce partnered with local government and industry to launch the Restaurant Success website, which streamlines the process of opening a restaurant in Seattle. The governor and Commerce are now working with other local jurisdictions to launch similar efforts statewide.
• Job growth. To help thousands of long-term unemployed workers find work, Washington secured more than $10 million dollars through the federal Rapid Response program.

• Economic development.
  • Gov. Inslee created an Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness to work directly with industry leaders on recruiting new companies to Washington and growing key industries.
  • Gov. Inslee helped secure thousands of aerospace jobs by winning the 777X. Boeing is now building its 1.4 million square foot expansion of the Everett plant. Dozens of companies from around the world are considering expanding here and locating new facilities in our state to be a part of the Washington aerospace industry.
  • To improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities in state employment, Gov. Inslee established the Disability Task Force.
• Resource management. Gov. Inslee’s Yakima Basin jobs, water and fish bill (SB 5367) works with agencies and local partners to manage water in the Yakima River Basin. Droughts and water shortages have harsh impacts on salmon, crops and homes in the region. The bill enhances stream flows for salmon, provides farmers with water, buys land for habitat restoration and public recreation and secures future water supplies. The legislation also created the Teanaway Community Forest Trust to ensure protection and public access to forest lands in the state.
• STEM education. Gov. Inslee’s House Bill 1872 convened a new STEM alliance to expand STEM opportunities in our K-12 system and develop a system for measuring how well the state and our partners are preparing students for STEM-related opportunities after high school.