Although the job market in Western Washington continues to grow, the pace has started to slow. The region added over 91,000 new jobs during the past year, but the 12-month growth rate is now below 100,000, a level we have not seen since the start of the post-COVID job recovery. That said, all but three counties have recovered completely from their pandemic job losses and total regional employment is up more than 52,000 jobs. The regional unemployment rate in November was 3.8%, which was marginally above the 3.7% level of a year ago. Many business owners across the country are pondering whether we are likely to enter a recession this year. As a result, it’s very possible that they will start to slow their expansion in anticipation of an economic contraction.
Top Ten Predictions for 2023
Is there a housing bubble? Will mortgage rates drop? Will housing affordability issues improve for hopeful buyers? Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner gives his thoughts on these questions and more in his Top 10 Predictions for 2023.
Covid 19 & Real Estate: What You Should Know
On this week's episode of "Mondays with Matthew," Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner provides an update on the forbearance program and what type of effect we can expect it to have on the US housing market.
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