Spokane7
49°
January 3, 2010 in Business
Let’s hope economy can shed darker aspects of ’09
It’s 2010, but there’s an awful lot of awful 2009 hanging around.
Like the unemployed, more than 320,000 idle in Washington as of Nov. 30. In Idaho, almost 70,000 were looking for work. Neither state has lapsed into double-digit rates of unemployment, but many local labor markets have, including Kootenai County and several rural counties on both sides of the border.
Spokane County employment, at 221,980, has tumbled by more than 7,000 in the past year.
And housing. No matter how few homes were built last year, not enough buyers stepped up to reduce inventories. In Spokane, the 2,923 homes on the market as of Dec. 3 were just two fewer than a year ago, even though the first-time buyers tax credit helped sell almost 1,000 in the October-November period. The 2,195 homes sold in Kootenai County were equivalent to about a one-year inventory.
Prices in Spokane and Kootenai counties declined 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
Other negatives: Soft retail sales, loan losses at area banks, and the departure of General Dynamics, taking with it 300 good jobs. United Coatings has announced it will move to Arizona within the next month or two.
There were positives.
The Northern Quest Resort & Casino bookended the year with a casino expansion on New Year’s 2009 and the opening of the hotel in time for New Year’s 2010. The Kalispel Tribe employs 2,000, making it one of the area’s largest employers.
Cascade Aerospace dedicated a new airplane repair hangar at Spokane International Airport. The aerospace industry has become a mainstay of the Inland Northwest economy.
First-year medical and dental classes were held in Spokane, setting the stage for a four-year program that will be an offshoot of the University of Washington. Area campuses were bulging with students using the economic lull to upgrade their skills.
For 2010, the best story may be in hospitality, starting with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. There are also four big conventions on the calendar, the return of the popular Walking with Dinosaurs show, plus the usual crowds attracted by Bloomsday, Hoopfest and the Ironman triathlon in Coeur d’Alene. The sports calendar also includes USA Cross Country Championships in February, opening rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, and American Legion Baseball regional and national tournaments.
Also, green is good for Itron, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, and several other area companies. The federal government is throwing billions of dollars at the global warming problem – and, yes, it is a problem – and the Inland Northwest should catch more than its share.
Mining no longer puts food on thousands of tables in the region, but it does hundreds. Hecla Mining Co. could decide to invest more than $150 million in the Lucky Friday mine at Mullan. Depending on the results of an upcoming bankruptcy auction, a restart of the Sunshine Mine is at least a possibility, and Formation Metals Inc. says it will employ 77 at its Kellogg smelter, although probably not this year.
Unfortunately, rebounds in construction and retailing are unlikely.
And, most troubling, several banks are under a heavy regulatory thumb. A healthy economy needs healthy banks.
2010 does not have to be a perfect 10, but we sure need something better than a 09.5.
Caldwell: West Point trained local bankers to survive 
Gene_Colburn on January 03 at 11:29 a.m.
With congress on the forefront of passing the two biggest tax fraud bills in the history of this nation, and the banks stealing our tax dollars it is very unlikely 2010 will be anything much above a 2.
Christmas sales were up a paltry 3.6% above 2008 reported sales (WSJ) and so consumers are not opening up their wallets any time soon. States are borrowing from the fed to pay their unemployment benefits, and tax revenues are dropping in every sector of the economy. Commercial real estate is on the brink of collapse and with the Dow hovering around 10,5000 it is still down 30 percent from its 2007 high. The bailout monies the fed is throwing around is billed to us. That bill is now due and payable and collecting interest Any one who thinks we can print money to pay for this mess without consequences is either on crack, or smoking pot. There is no more ferry dust.