Mild recovery

By John W. Mitchell Senior Vice President and Chief Economist U.S. Bancorp

EOOM years in the Pacific North9west ended in l99l as the national recession moved from the newspaper to the labor markets. The 5Vo+ em-ployment growth rates in Idaho and Washington and Oregon's 3.2Vo dropped. BySeptember, Washington's wage and salary employment growth was down to .3Vo, Oregon, l.4Vo, and ldaho, 2.4Vo.

The forest products industry in this Persian Gulf of Timber continues to shed jobs, reflecting slow rebound in demand and continuing policy uncertainty over public forest management. Timber sales in owl habitat administered by the Forest Service have been shut down by legal action and the BLM has requested convening of the

Story at a Glance

Slow rebound in Northwest ...ldaho bucking national trend in building and employment...wa., or., ld. will continue above-national-average population growth.

Endangered Species Committee. Residential building permits in Oregon and Washington are running 30 to 4OEo below last year with massive declines in multifamily permits. Idaho is bucking the national and regional trend with permits through August l3%o ahead of last year.

The region's performance in'92 will depend heavily on whether the national economy is in a recovery mode or headed for the dreaded election year double diphtheria. I believe we are in a slow recovery that will

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