Published June 2003

Students get glimpse
of local economy

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

How is the economy of Snohomish County, Puget Sound and the state changing, and what do the changes mean to today’s graduating students who will soon be seriously exploring the workplace?

Kamiak High School juniors and seniors in Mukilteo heard a comprehensive presentation on the local economy in May from an expert close to the subject, Snohomish County Economic Development Council President Deborah Knutson.

While there are bright spots, including biotech growth, Knutson said, the economy is still suffering from global and national events that have flattened economic growth in general and sent the aerospace industry into a tailspin.

Speaking to more than 50 students studying economics and current events, Knutson’s presentation wrapped up 12 weeks of real-world business and economics presented by Craig Sunderland, a Boeing Co. executive involved in Snohomish County’s Junior Achievement program.

“As part of Junior Achievement’s goal of educating students about our economic system, I talked to the class about real-world events and brought a number of business experts to the classroom to present their views,” Sunderland said.

Even though the Snohomish County economy has become much more diversified over the past decade, statistics show that aerospace is still the dominant industry and the key to a healthy local economy, Knutson said.

Quoting a 2003 study by Huckell/Weinman Associates, Knutson noted that in 2002, aerospace employment in the county impacted 28,200 direct jobs and another 67,120 indirect jobs.

Manufacturing jobs in the county are almost all in the aerospace industry, which essentially means the Boeing Co.’s Everett assembly plant for 747, 767 and 777 airliners, she said.

Overall, according to tallies by the Washington State Employment Security Department, manufacturing employment in the county in 2000 accounted for 25.7 percent of all jobs, more than double the state’s share of manufacturing jobs, which account for only 12.8 percent of all workers, she said.

In 2001, Snohomish County had 35 percent of all the aircraft jobs in the tri-county Puget Sound area, Knutson said, adding that a hopeful sign for the local economy is that the county has 26 percent of all biotech jobs in the state, with King County accounting for 65 percent of all of the state’s biotech employment.

Although the Boeing Co.’s Everett plant employment has plummeted in the past two years from around 35,000 to around 24,000 workers, the county is working hard with state officials to convince Boeing to build its new 7E7 airliner in Everett to use the skills of thousands of laid-off aerospace workers in the county.

Quoting the Huckell/Weinman study, Knutson said the potential economic impact of having the 7E7 program here would have a direct impact of 7,500 new jobs worth $600 million in annual wages.

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