After Office Hours with Puget Sound Economic Forecaster

Episode 27 - Raspberries and Coachella

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:09:08 -0700

The team discusses the troubles with forecasting in uncertain times and state of the economy in the region and nationally. Touching on topics such as retail sales, labor marketing and housing.

Creators & Guests

Fouzia Awan - Guest
Hart Hodges - Host
James Mark Gbeda - Guest
James McCafferty - Host
McK Mollner - Guest

Episode 26 - It's Not Policy, it is a Social Media Post

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:26:16 -0800

We rang in the new year in Seattle much like we are bringing you this podcast – with a lot of fog obscuring the show. If you think weather forecasts are unreliable, try predicting the economy with incomplete data, revised later, using assumptions that stop holding the moment you publish. But at least weather forecasters and economists have one thing in common: if their predictions were consistently right, no one would listen to them anymore.

Here we sit on January 13, 2026 hitting record for another in-depth economic discussion. A word of caution in what has become a quickly evolving economic climate – check your watch and your calendar as we talk – it is highly probable that things have shifted.

We published our latest regional report about a month ago. Honestly it felt like a published with dark sunglasses and one hand tied behind our backs as large slices of federal data were not available and they just started to appear last week. We took a narrative approach in our report – a nearly numerical free edition.

Topics Discussed today:
- Government shutdown effect on government data
- Private Data sources
- Q4 Retail Sales and expected Q1 numbers
- Housing and Construction data and impact of non-policy on the forecast
- Trade Deficit and Tariffs

Episode 25 - Push it Until it Breaks

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Sat, 18 Oct 2025 19:25:42 -0700

The team covers myriad hot topics, including the impact of the government shut down on economic statistics, the impact of AI on the job market and the economy, how tariffs are or are not impacting consumers and how all of this impacts the Puget Sound economy.

Episode 24: The Positive Outlook

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 23:17:14 -0700

Episode 23: The Curious Case of the Converging Goals of Tariffs

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 14:57:21 -0700

Episode 22: Game of (Credible) Threats

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:10:40 -0800

The team explores game theory and how it relates to recent economic news.

The one with all of the opinions

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:35:58 -0700

Episode 20: It's not the establishment

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 12:10:46 -0700

Hart and James bring in all of the research economists to discuss the latest data around unemployment, construction, rate cuts, water adjudication and what it all means for the Puget Sound economy.

Episode 19: Living in the Riviera - of the PNW

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 14:08:53 -0700

Episode 18: New Year, Same Data?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 23:14:28 -0800

Episode 17: A (Taylor) Swift Effect

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:25:21 -0700

The team gets together to chat about the current forecast. Are interest rates coming down? Inflation rates?

Episode 16: Summertime Data Funtime

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 10:47:55 -0700

Grab your Coffee and Popcorn (it will make some sense later) and listen in on what the team has to say in this glorious summer of 2023.

Episode 15: A Hundred Acre Wood full of Eeyores?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 15:00:00 -0700

Spring has sprung in our region – from Tulips in the Skagit Valley to a fresh dusting of pollen just about everywhere else. There is always such a rush of optimism when the cold dark days of winter in the Pacific Northwest yield to the random weather days of Spring – will it be sunny, warm, cold, rainy, windy or some other adjective? All we can say is our colleagues in meteorology truly help improve the perception of accuracy for Economists.

You have found yourself another edition of After Office Hours with the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster. It is here that you will find an ongoing conversation about our Puget Sound regional economy. We record this podcast about one month after posting our quarterly forecast and report as a way to expand on the report but also engage you in some of the same discussions we have every day in our office.

The team came together on April 12, 2023. The group on deck for this economic dive is…

Dr. Hart Hodges an economics professor at Western Washington University. Hart writes the regional forecast article and will occasionally contribute other articles based on the topics. Hart and I both co-direct the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western.

Bethany King is our Research Economist and works with the switches and dials of many of our models while providing a wide array of insights into the forecasts. Bethany writes many of the articles each quarter as well as the monthly updates for our digital subscribers.

Cam MacKenzie rounds out the talent portion of the show today. Cam is our Research Designer and contributes to the Forecaster with a variety of articles and the retail section.

James McCafferty, James serves as the general manager and publisher for the report.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this work is considering the shifting landscape ahead and the many, well too many most of the time, aspects that could dramatically impact the forecasting work. Influences from the international, national, regional, public sector, private sector
and the fantasy sector of social media all seem to be moving in different directions all at the same time.

The team goes over the following topics - referencing articles.

Residential Real Estate
There has been a lot of media ink spilled these past few weeks related to real estate. Bethany covers what going on with residential real estate, what is happening nationally and how does it connect locally. Zillow and Moody’s (https://buff.ly/3nYBgNt) have drawn very different opinions on what the national market is doing

Commercial Real Estate

Hart, discusses reports that the commercial real estate sector has signs of sluggishness (https://buff.ly/3o194t0) and provides his take on the local market and what might influence a shift in current conditions.

Consumers

Cam covers the WSJ article posted recently declaring "the must have economy is in decline" as consumers are reining in their spending (https://buff.ly/3mmSKm4). Cam reports on consumer confidence and consumer activity,

GDP

Hart has an opinion on the Atlanta Fed downgraded in their GDPNow forecast again. Now for 3 or 4 weeks in a row with it now reporting 1.5%. (https://buff.ly/3AuIjQb) We are hearing very conflicting talking points on this front… from a recession is eminent to never and that rate cuts are eminent or several years off. This seems like people hanging their hat on one metric in a complex world – Hart states if this is correct or not.

Manufacturing

Bethany discussed investment in manufacturing and talks about what is underneath that investment. (spending related to manufacturing)

Retail

Cam add some details to the retail forecast and current conditions.

Housing and Construction

Bethany, add some details to the housing and construction forecast.

On the Other Hand

Hart adds additional insight to the article he wrote for this last report that focused on the positive aspects of the economy.

Episode 14: The PNW Canary in the Coal Mine

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 10:23:37 -0800

Creators & Guests

James McCafferty - Host
Hart Hodges - Host

Episode 13: My Economy, Your Economy

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 17:35:48 -0700

The team starts the discussion with what they are currently understanding from the data, also how different outlooks can come from the same data. Fun with data leads the team to discuss recession and inflation, worldwide, nation wide and right here in our Puget Sound region. Cam will go over the retail numbers. Hart and Bethany have insight on the Housing and Commercial real estate markets. Find our what Hart, DOESN'T want to talk about! It may not be all sunshine and rainbows but it is an honest discourse on what we our seeing in the economic forecast for the Puget Sound region!

Episode 12: That's my number!

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 08:24:38 -0700

James, Hart and Bethany get together once again to talk forecasting while faced with a global pandemic, global changes throughout the labor market, supply chain, and massive turmoil within the commodities market, and the introduction of a war. Main topics of today's discussion are Inflation, Recession, Federal reserve and interest rate adjustments, Labor Market, Consumer Confidence, Retail spend, Construction, different Metrics the team is really looking at and of course, our good friend COVID-19.

A couple of gems from the podcast:
"People can be freaked out about all sorts of things that don't have to do with the economy and it affects the economy." - Bethany King.

"Who knew that being a vegan would be a hedge against inflation..." - James McCafferty.

"yeah it (inflation) is 9% but that's the start of the conversation, not the end." - Dr. Hart Hodges.

Finally Bethany provides a glimpse at what our subscribers will be getting a chance to view with the monthly updates!

11: One Month Does Not a Trend Make

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 11:39:54 -0700

Join James, Hart, Bethany and newcomer Audrey as they discuss the current events of the economic day! In this episode the team covers the current forecast of Covid impacts, Inflation and recession risk, how supply chain entanglements and what people are spending money on, impacts inflationary pressures. Hart will discuss Fed actions, projections and CPI vs PCE. The team also covers the impact the war in the Ukraine may have on the local economy. Which drives a look into how a cultural shift to source locally is adds fuel to the inflation fire. The topic them moves to housing bubbles and how a clearing of supply chain in construction products coupled with a shifting of commercial space use to residential, will actually help drive higher housing supply. Employment and the labor market is discussed by the entire team, with Audrey adding her perspective on what it is like for folks just entering the workforce. Bethany take a moment to discuss the monthly updates, and how things are looking up in the economy. But remember, one month of good data doesn't equal a trend.

Episode 10: Inflation Thoughts for Early 2022

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 10:29:24 -0800

Covid Impacts - Omicron
Inflation concerns
Supply Chain updates - Imports are rising what does that mean?
Employment - natural rate of unemployment, are wages actually rising? Discussion of real wages and median wages.
How is the Fed Reacting - or not reacting
How do the Retail Numbers look? The Holidays were a little different this year!
Housing - shortage continues - how is that impacting the marketing and the housing index? Mortgage rates and housing affordability.
What the monthly updates are showing - a decidedly mixed bag.

Episode 9 - For Pessimists, We Are Pretty Optimistic

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 16:05:52 -0700

Hello and welcome to After Office Hours with the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster. This is your home for discussion about the Puget Sound region’s economy. The economy and what is affecting it continues to be in a high rate. We are recording this on October 15th for those keeping score – depending on when you are listening there are going to likely be new developments to keep in mind.

We developed this podcast and our social media stream to give you the inside glimpse of what it is like to be sitting in our research center and overhearing all of our side conversations as we track what is going on in the economy. So please, have a seat, get comfortable but please, no flash photography.

Before diving into current economic thoughts let’s see who is here today. My name is James McCafferty and I serve as the general manager and publisher for the newsletter along with being cast into the role of host for this podcast.

Dr. Hart Hodges is an economics professor at Western Washington University. Hart writes the regional forecast article and will occasionally contribute other articles based on the topics. Hart and I both co-direct the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western.

Rounding out this panel of super smart people today is Brianna Berkson who has been with our Research Center for many years and is currently completing her MBA here at Western.

With all of that, grab your beverage and snack of choice and let’s see if we can unpack all that is going on in the economy.

We should once again start with COVID itself. This week we have learned that Washington state has dropped in new cases across all the age bands which is great news. We have also heard from our State’s K-12 leaders that families should expect to see schools opening and closing around the state due to case counts but not at a state-wide level. Amazon took the surprising path of announcing that they would abandon their previously held statement of a return to the office in favor of a hybrid approach as long as employees committed to being in the office if they were needed for in-person activities.

Outside of Washington case counts are all over the place with Idaho and Montanna being two of the hottest places at the moment leading to Washington State pleading to not over run our hospitals.

In a nut shell – we are in the end game of a pandemic and the data is still all over the place as to what we should make of it all.

It appears that the indicators all show us making a gradual decent from pandemic to endemic as we move through the Winter with the largest threats being another variant or a serious flu season.

The real action has been in employment news in the weeks since we published the Forecaster. Bethany, runs down the latest and what it may mean for our next forecast.

· 3% left jobs in August. 30% are expected to change jobs in the next 12 months so this is not out of the box and we should expect this to become a near normal statistic for awhile

· New claims for unemployment last week at lowest level since March 2020

· 1/3 of unemployed are long-term unemployed

Hart spends some time talking about inflation covering the latest thinking about inflation concerns and Supply Chain problems and how it impacts thoughts about the forecast.

Brianna covers the retail numbers. Start your holiday shopping early! Multiple companies – Costco, Home Depot, Walmart and others – are resorting to private charters to move their inventories and inventories at stores are very low. Brianna covers how the team at the Forecaster thinks this plays out.

Bethany covers the Real Estate situation and the impact of a lot of work from home in the chatter. Is this impacting housing and migration? Bethany walks us through what is going on and how it may impact our modeling and expectations.

Hart covers the Market and the start of earnings reporting. We often will explain that the market is not the economy but it is still interesting to have a quick discussion on the market. Inflation fears are very real for far more people than seems warranted but earnings seem to be up overall and the market continues to move mostly forward. Hart covers his thoughts on the forward looking aspects of the market.

Don' forget we create monthly updates which are available to our online subscribers. Bethany covers what has been included in the most current update.

We encourage you to follow us on social media to have a front row seat of reading over our shoulders on a daily basis and to learn about other ways to connect with us.

We will be hosting a special 2 hour webinar on Friday October 29th that you may be interested in featuring a regional outlook and expanded conversations related to supply chain, inflation, the labor market, migration and real estate. We will be promoting that on our social media stream or contact us for more information!

You can always reach us via our website cebr.wwu.edu or by email cebr@wwu.edu with questions, comments or if you are interested in having us speak at an event.

After Office Hours with the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster is a production of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University.

Thank you to our producer, Jill Poon with KDMC.

To learn more about the topics discussed today, please visit us at economicforecaster.com and subscribe to our quarterly newsletter. Subscribe to After Office Hours with the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster.

City Center Rent is on the Rise

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:51:44 -0700

If rent is rising, what does that tell us? Listen to the full podcast for more information.

Rising Vehicle Prices - a Harbinger of Things to Come?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:50:44 -0700

Are those crazy high truck prices a sign of inflation or a short term affect of supply chain issues?

How our Workspaces are Changing

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:49:09 -0700

Commercial Real Estate is seeing some changes.

Beware the Word Average

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:47:39 -0700

When we say things like median and average, what does that really mean for individuals in the economy.

Three Words - Doug the Pug

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:46:10 -0700

How do we go about counting people who are working, making money, but are not participating in the workforce in the traditional sense? Listen to the full podcast for more information.

Employees Wagging the Dog?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:44:35 -0700

Changing employee markets are impacting how companies find workers.

The Great Resignation

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:42:09 -0700

3% of employees quit their job last quarter - how does that impact? Listen to the full podcast for more information.

Forecaster Predicts More Fights on Airplanes

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:40:22 -0700

In all seriousness we touch on the economy as we emerge from the pandemic

Ep8: Stranger Things and Groundhog Day

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:43:23 -0700

We issued a special edition of forecaster last week to update the forecast we posted in mid-June. Taking this extra step is definitely out of the ordinary but if there is anything we have learned in the past 18 months – not much is ordinary.

The team this week includes, James McCafferty, Hart Hodges, Bethany King and Josh Grandbouche.

Are we worried about inflation? What is going on in the Labor Market? Are we SURE we aren't looking at a housing bubble? Why are those container ships sitting in the bay? Let's talk about the inflation again, what do we think the Fed is planning? Finally - are school supplies really going to be the new toilet paper?!? I want my college ruled composition notebook!

Don't call it a bubble

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:33:52 -0700

What is really going on with home prices? Bethany breaks it down. Listen to the full episode.

We've Entered... the Variant Zone.

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:32:31 -0700

Kids are returning to school, but offices are closing again. What does COVID-19 recovery look like in the months ahead?

We are still getting older at the same rate

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:30:55 -0700

Some things are just following the natural order of things! As COVID-19 makes things feel like we are standing still, we've continued to get older through the pandemic. Find out how this may be impacting our Baby Boomer population, retirement and the labor market!

Got CDL? We want you!

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:27:56 -0700

Got CDL? Find out more about labor shortages and the impact on our national supply chain in the full episode

Why Publish a Special Edition?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:26:29 -0700

Josh covers the reasons the center decided to publish a special edition - it doesn't happen often. New numbers, new information, etc. Find out more in the full episode.

Are school supplies the new toilet paper?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:24:31 -0700

It is back to school time and school supplies have become the new toilet paper. List to the full episode to find out Josh's answer to the question.

Ep7: The Usual Level of Chaos

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 09:36:06 -0700

Public policy is becoming a much larger ingredient in the forecast – stimulus, low rates, increased child tax credits, monthly stipends, and more. Supply chain issues, consumer demand shifts, minimum wage discussions and more are competing for attention as well. In the Forecaster we explore all of it. We have checked the math three times and it is true – it has been a year since we started on this COVID fueled adventure. The checking the math part has become part of the ritual, every time we complete a forecast someone seems to introduce a new variable. This week the stimulus train will be pulling into many American’s bank accounts with the intention of launching a retail surge. Economists are mixed on how this will play out – will people spend it, save it or do some of both with plans for the warmer days ahead? There is no doubt about, this stimulus is going to create a long-lasting impact that is just starting to appear in the modeling.

Want to know how the stimulus money will impact retail sales?

Looking for Construction and Real Estate insights related to the future of working from home?

The Forecaster is looking beyond the index numbers and giving you a better understanding of what is behind the unemployment numbers and what we mean by Job Skill Mismatch.

The coming months will be full of revisions, stay tuned to the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster.

Looking for a job? Looking to fill a job?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 09:35:20 -0700

Wondering about employment gains and recovery? The team looks at what might be going on behind the numbers.

Defending the Retail Sales Figures

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 09:32:10 -0700

We received a lot of calls after the latest Forecaster was published, asking for an explanation as why the retail numbers were so high. A little bit from Brianna in this trailer, find out more in the full episode.

The Rational Bubble

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 09:30:30 -0700

What does Hart mean by a rational bubble? How does it relate to residential real estate? Find out more in the full episode.

Back to the Usual Level of Chaos

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 09:24:39 -0700

A brief listen to the group's conversation about the Regional Outlook and how we see things moving forward with respect to Boeing, to hear the rest of the conversation, check out the full podcast

Episode 6 - Hope? It's complicated

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:10:51 -0800

James, Josh, Hart and newcomer Brianna cover all the important topics and the effects we can maybe, hopefully, look forward to in the coming months. When asked if there is hope for the future, Hart's answer is "of course there is hope"... but it's complicated. The team parses out what we can expect over the coming months as it pertains to the local economy, delving into, Retail Sales, Construction, Employments and what kind of new habits we might see coming out of the pandemic. Grab your beverage of choice, sit back and take it all in!

Vaccines, where can they be???

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:08:48 -0800

A little shout out to the Star Wars world; quick notes on the current vaccine rollout.

Hello Seattle, welcome to being an expensive city

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:05:26 -0800

Hart talks about the realities of living in a big expensive city as it related to Seattle's number of renters vs. owners. He also touches on the future of residential and commercial construction. Is everyone going to be working from home?

Hope and Complications

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:03:48 -0800

Hart starts off the podcast with a discussion surrounding hope on the horizon.

A Tale of Two Economies

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 12:02:04 -0800

Cliche but true, Josh breaks down the reality of the tech sector as a buoy to the local economy and the reality of jobs dependent on in-person access.

Episode 5 - Covid, Kinda Covid, Not Covid

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:04:35 -0800

We are now a few weeks out from the first publication of our September forecast. It seems like a great time to talk about what we know now and where are current thinking is at.

On the show today:

James McCafferty serves as the general manager and publisher for the newsletter.

Dr. Hart Hodges is an economics professor at Western Washington University. Hart writes the regional forecast article and will occasionally contribute other articles based on the topics. Hart and James both co-direct the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western.

Sara Wold is our Research Economist, where among a long list of things she manages the forecast model for the Forecaster. Sara often contributes many of the articles in the Forecaster including the leading index analysis.

Today we cover topics including
- Impacts of COVID-19 on the Economy by playing a new game COVID!, Kinda Covid, NOT COVID!
- Elections
- Regional Outlook
- Retail Sales
- Commercial Real Estate
- Boeing
- How our outlook is changing and why the updated index is an important tool to have right now!

Join us for lively economic discussion!

Episode 4: Recovery is a Backward Square Root Sign

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 14:40:29 -0700

We are now three weeks out from the first publication of our June forecast. It seems like a great time to talk about what we know now and where are current thinking is at.

On the show today:

Our special guest: Dr Steve Lerch is the Executive Director and Chief Economist for the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Steve is responsible for the official state forecast and contributes that forecast each quarter to the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster.

James McCafferty serves as the general manager and publisher for the newsletter.

Dr. Hart Hodges is an economics professor at Western Washington University. Hart writes the regional forecast article and will occasionally contribute other articles based on the topics. Hart and James both co-direct the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western.

Josh Grandbouche is the lead research analyst with the Center where among a long list of things he manages the forecast model for the Forecaster. Josh often contributes many of the articles in the Forecaster including the leading index analysis.

Sara Wold is our Research Economist and is joining us for the first time today. Sara will be taking over Josh’s duties in these next few months as Josh heads off to graduate school. Sara has been with the Center for two years and has contributed many articles to the Forecaster and we look forward to even more.

Today we cover topics including
- The current regional outlook
- The current state outlook
- Retail Sales
- The shape of the many industry recovery curves
- Is the Puget Sound region buoyed by the Tech industry or pulled down the decline in Aerospace.
- What is this Fall going to look like for Schools, both K-12 and University.
- How the impact of COVID-19 on Sports and Music shapes our local economy
- The 5 hour car ride
and more!

Join us for lively economic discussion!

Episode 3: COVID-19 and Economic History - have we been here before?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:00:00 -0700

This week James, Hart and Josh are joined by Dr. Brandon Dupont to discuss the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 from a historical perspective. Dr. Brandon Dupont is an Economic Professor at Western Washington University. He has focused his work on topics related to 19th century banking crises and the history of economics. Brandon teaches courses in microeconomics, the history of economic thought, political economy, and economic history. In this episode of the the Economic Forecaster the team covers stimulus checks, PPP, policy similarities between now and the 1918 Flu and lessons we can learn from the 1918 Flu recovery. They also cover impacts to construction, unemployment and what recovery could look like in the Puget Sound region. 30 minuets of economics never went by so quickly!

What Kind of U Shape?

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 01:00:00 -0700

Hart Hodges discusses the possible shapes of the recovery curve.

Episode 3: Its a Parade!

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:00 -0700

When we've been here before

Episode 2: Covid-19 Coverage

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:00:00 -0700

This week James, Hart and Josh are joined by Dr. Laurie Trautman and Dr. Anneliese Vance Sherman.

Dr. Anneliese Vance Sherman, a consistent contributor to the Forecaster, works with the Washington State Employment Security Department as a Regional Economist. To say she has her finger on the pulse of our State’s and region’s employment data is an understatement.

Dr. Laurie Trautman directs Western’s Border Policy Research Institute (https://wp.wwu.edu/bpri/). Her institute is one of two such institutes along the northern border. The volume of research coming from BPRI is amazing.

We launched this podcast with the thought that a lot happens after we publish the Forecaster. Did we ever under sell that concept. We published the latest Forecaster’s Quarterly newsletter last Friday, March 13th, with the unprecedented step of emailing it to all subscribers for immediate use given the quickly evolving economic climate. By Sunday afternoon, we began planning for a revised forecast and this podcast.

Join us today as we cover all manner of COVID-19 impacts, from general impact and duration discussion, border crossing, tourism and travel impacts as well as a look at the latest unemployment data available.

Grab your beverage of choice and settle in for another episode of After Office Hours with Puget Sound Economic Forecaster.

After Office Hours - Episode 1: Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Puget Sound Economic Forecaster — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 10:00:00 -0700

Join the WWU CEBR team, James McCafferty (our light comic relief), Hart Hodges and Joshua Grandbouche as the go in depth on the December issue of the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster.

The 2019 economy has been a mixed bag. While there are a growing number of indicators to be concerned about, some, like consumer spending, remain strong. We have another round of potential tariffs being threatened (France, Argentina, Brazil) and a growing discussion around both consumer and corporate debt. The team covers how these will impact us here in the Puget Sound region.

E-commerce continues to grow, with some retailers losing and others making large gains. There is a battle for consumer’s hearts and minds, and we explore that in this edition.

A serious discussion about education and the workforce of the future is brewing. We explore what types of jobs may exist in the future and what type of education they may need.