The city of Spokane racked up an 11.7 percent increase in taxable retail sales in the third quarter of 2006and preliminary full-year figures put the citys growth in such sales in 2006 at their highest percentage gain in 23 years.


Both the city and Spokane County recorded gains that placed them among the leaders in the state in the third quarter, with the citys jump topped only by Everetts among the five Washington cities with the highest taxable sales, the Washington state Department of Revenue says. Spokane Countys 8.3 percent rise put it behind only Snohomish County among the five counties with the highest sales.


Gavin Cooley, the city of Spokanes chief financial officer, says that preliminary figures for all of 2006 place the citys growth in such sales at 10.91 percent, for the highest one-year jump in the past 23 years.


Every economic indicator you can find for the city of Spokane now is very positive, Cooley says.


Because final figures lag, its too early to pinpoint the source of last years taxable retail sales growth in the city precisely, but new construction and strong retail sales were contributing factors, Cooley says. He says last years jump in retail sales was preceded by a 5 percent jump from 2004 to 2005, giving Spokane two consecutive rock-solid years.


Early indications for 2007 are that it will at least hold as strong as last year, Cooley says.


Rich Hadley, president and CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated, formed last week from Spokanes chamber and EDC, says the third-quarter figures exhibited strength. He adds, Barring any national calamities, the (economic) picture for the region is strong for at least the next three years.


Hadley notes the county has added more than 10,000 jobs in the last year, a sign that the economy is still accelerating. He says theres strong evidence that more applicants are needed to fill the increasing number of jobs.


Total taxable retail sales in the city of Spokane in the third quarter increased to $998.5 million from about $894 million in the year-earlier period, and Spokane Countys taxable sales climbed to about $1.93 billion from $1.78 billion.


Manufacturing and construction, in particular, both recorded large percentage jumps in taxable retail sales here. In the city, taxable sales in those two sectors soared 44.9 percent and 21.2 percent, respectively, and countywide, they climbed 19.6 and 10.2 percent.


Although the total dollar amount of taxable retail sales in both the city and county is much larger for construction than for manufacturing, Hadley says thats misleading because a significant amount of manufacturing sales arent covered by a retail tax. If manufacturers sell their products to distributors who in turn market those goods to consumers, the distributor collects the retail sales tax and not the manufacturer.


In the city, taxable retail sales for construction rose to $143.4 million from $118.3 million in the year-earlier quarter, and in the county, they jumped to $304 million from $275.8 million. Taxable retail sales for manufacturing climbed to $25.4 million from $17.6 million in the city, and they rose to $63.9 million from $53.4 million in the county.


Although most major business sectors in both the city and county posted strong sales gains, one area where they were a bit softerbut still growingwas wholesale trade, in which the city and county had taxable sales growth of 4.6 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.