After Office Hours with Puget Sound Economic Forecaster

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

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

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 Lab...

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

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

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

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.

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.

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...

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

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.

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

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

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, Constructi...

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

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?

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

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.

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 artic...

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 cont...

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 thoug...

Hart Hodges discusses the possible shapes of the recovery curve.

When we've been here before

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...