Really.

Taxable retail sales statewide declined nearly 11 percent during the 4th quarter of 2008, the state Department of Revenue said today. What's dropping: construction was down 12 percent, cars and car parts were down 27 percent, hotels and restaurants were down 5 percent and building materials/garden equipment/supplies dropped 14 percent compared to the 4th quarter of 2007.

The good news, if there's some to be found here, is that the Spokane area has dropped far less than every other population center in the state.

First, taxable retail sales by county (numbers rounded):

-King: -13 percent
-Pierce: -12 percent
-Snohomish: -16 percent
-Clark: -14 percent
-Spokane: -7 percent.

By city?

Seattle: -7 percent
Bellevue: -14 percent
Tacoma: -13 percent
-Everett: -16 percent
-Spokane: -3 percent.

Want to find your city or county? See here. Or here's a better, more concise version.

---

---