Washington Business Summer 2018 | Washington Business | Page 36

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North I-5 Employment 2017
Mining, Logging and
Construction
Government
7.4%
19.6%
Other Private
Services
Manufacturing
11.1%
12.5%
16.2%
Retail
Trade
Professional and
Business Services
9.4%
9.7%
Leisure and
Hospitality
14.1%
Education and
Health Services
north i-5 corridor
The balance of the mostly urban North I-5 corridor, from
Whatcom County to Thurston County (excluding King County),
provides nearly 860,000 nonfarm jobs. The region has the largest
share of manufacturing jobs of any part of the state, 11.1 percent,
with significant manufacturing facilities in Pierce, Snohomish,
Skagit and Whatcom counties. As the home of the state capital,
Thurston County includes a large share of public-sector jobs.
Southwest Employment 2017
Mining, Logging and
Construction
Government
7.9%
17.6%
Manufacturing
10.7%
Other Private
Services
11.7%
16.6%
10%
Leisure and
Hospitality
9.8%
15.6%
Retail
Trade
Professional and
Business Services
Education and
Health Services
southwest
With nearly a quarter-million nonfarm jobs, the Southwest region
has shown strong growth since 2000. BCG reports the region
has experienced “the state’s fastest GDP growth,” primarily as
a result of Vancouver’s vitality. Once again, Matthewson points
out, the region shows its own urban-rural divide between relative
prosperity of the “suburban and exurban economic activity”
outside Portland, and the more rural communities.
36 association of washington business