This report compares Washington State to eight similar states on indicators of economic well-being over the past decade, while highlighting the impact of the recent economic downturn. The following population-level measures are shown for each state: poverty, food insecurity, fair market rental costs, private sector job growth, employment status, underemployment, long-term unemployment, and average duration of unemployment. Of the nine states included in the analysis, rates of child poverty and hunger rose most sharply in Washington State during the recent recession. Although job growth and employment rates in Washington point to a relatively robust and resilient state economy, high underemployment and long-term unemployment rates suggest a potential “structural” mismatch between some groups of workers and available jobs in the new economy.
