Projections of retail sales growth here next year vary widely, but they likely won't be much better than flat, observers and government budgeters say. The city of Spokane is budgeting for a 1.5 percent increase in sales-tax collections next is a
Kootenai County business sources say they expect 2010 to usher in a turnaround in several economic sectors there.They say the residential real estate market appears to have bottomed out, bleeding will slow in the wood-products industry, some in
Demand for health-care services should remain strong here in the coming year, but the outlook for that sector is clouded somewhat by potential government funding cuts. Also unclear are the financial implications of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community a
At this time last year, mining executives were saying how much difference a year had made. With metals prices down and capital markets frozen, solemn executives were yearning for the days just 12 months earlier when the sun was shining on their are
Tourism is expected to rebound here in 2010, boosted by a number of big-ticket sporting events, along with several first-time bookings of national conventions and the return of some popular tourist events. "It's going to be a remarkable year," A
Some Spokane bankers believe the economy here and in the nation hit a low point in 2009, and that 2010 will be better. Still, they're not saying next year will be anything to write home about.Washington Trust Bank expects "modest" growth in its
High-tech manufacturers say that with orders and backlogs beginning to build, they're looking for better times in 2010.Key Tronic Corp., a Spokane Valley-based contract manufacturer, recently removed a salary freeze it had instituted about a and
Public-works projects and tax credits are expected to prop up the construction industry here in 2010, but the flow of projects in the pipeline has slowed to a trickle, says Kate McCaslin, president and CEO of the Inland Pacific Chapter of Builders
The residential real estate market is expected to improve slowly here in 2010 following a four-year sales decline, while the commercial real estate sector might remain in the doldrums for a while yet, industry sources here say.The number of home
Slight improvement is expected in job growth in the Spokane metropolitan area next year, although it doesn't appear that average annual employment will rise above its peak level in 2008, Doug Tweedy, regional labor economist here for the Washington
