Kennewick-Pasco-Richland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 7.4 percent in January 2018, which is 1.1 percent lower than in January 2017, while recording 0.8 percent increase from December 2017, according to the estimates by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The Benton County unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, while the Franklin County unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in January 2018.The state’s not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 5.6 percent in January 2018. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 4.7 percent and nationwide unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in January 2018. The labor force expanded in January 2018 for Kennewick-Pasco-Richland Metro and across Washington state. The resident labor force rose from 132,279 ...

Unlike many states, in Washington, the transportation sector emits more than twice as much carbon into the air than the utility sector. But to get more consumers to make the switch to electric vehicles, drivers have to feel confident their mobility won’t be limited by lack of charging infrastructure. It’s classic “chicken or the egg” stuff. Energy Northwest recently finalized agreements to be the lead agency in the Washington state Department of Transportation Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Pilot Project. In partnership with member utilities Benton and Franklin public utility districts and the City of Richland, and participating utilities Benton Rural Electric Association and the City of Ellensburg, EN will oversee the $1 million project to construct a network of publicly available ...

We have an ongoing number of projects for the first quarter of 2018. One of the 3 primary industry targets for growth identified by the Tadzo reports is Logistics, Warehousing, and Distribution. In December 2017 TRIDEC received a report from a WSU MBA Candidate, identifying 6 companies that may soon be in need of a distribution center in the Pacific Northwest. We have set up a campaign to initiate and foster relationships with the target businesses over the course of the next year. TRIDEC has contracted a lead generation service to help us identify companies that may be nearing expansion or relocation efforts. We used this service to generate 50 leads for the Power-Gen trade show (an international energy convention) ...

After a nearly three-day shutdown, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution on January 22nd to fund the federal government through February 8th. Thankfully, local DOE and PNNL operations were not impacted because there was adequate carryover funding to temporarily bridge the gap. It’s difficult to predict what will happen after February 8th – there could be another shutdown, another short-term Continuing Resolution, or (hopefully) an Omnibus Appropriations bill. An Omnibus Appropriations bill would let federal agencies know how much funding they will have for the remainder of the fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2018), allowing them to plan ahead and operate more efficiently. It would also give the workforce, who are understandably concerned about furloughs, more certainty. In order to pass an ...