Mike Benbow reports from The Everett Herald.
[Addition from The Tim]
As noted in the forums, local construction equipment manufacturer Genie Industries is also laying off “120 full-time workers and an undisclosed number of temporary workers.” The P-I has the story.
Genie employs roughly 3,000 people, making it the second-largest employer in Redmond. For what it’s worth, it is also where I worked until January (when I left of my own volition).
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1
S-crow
// Jul 14, 2008 at 8:17 am
Also:
1) Equipment rental power house Hertz Rentals has been consolidating and closing branches. I can only infer that this is due to demand of rentals for heavy equipment for contractors (and homeowners) is falling off.
2) I’m also hearing from my builder resources that some local banks are working with the builders that have offers (but in tough negotiations with buyers) on their homes to make deals work. In other words, there is the possibility that some banks may take less than what is owed to make the deal happen.
2
alex
// Jul 14, 2008 at 8:23 am
S-Crow, good to know about item #2 in your list! Thanks!
3
redmondjp
// Jul 14, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I, too, am a former employee of Genie. I got downsized in their last layoff of October 2002. They had two layoffs previous to that in October of 2001 and then May of 2002. The company had roughly 3000 employees before the layoffs started and roughly 1500 after the third layoff. So the company shrank by almost 50%, employee-wise. Yes, it can happen again (not saying that it will). One difference between now and then is that they now have deeper pockets since being acquired by Terex in the summer of ‘02.
In another related item, NC Machinery, a large Caterpillar-centric rental store (and Cat is another big Genie customer) just opened their new rental center in MONROE of all places, right next to where I work now (and also one of Tim’s former haunts–small world, eh). They now have an equipment yard full of several million dollars’ worth of new earthmoving equipment, just in time for the construction downturn.
What inning are we in now, maybe the bottom of the 2nd? This game is going to get very interesting before it’s over. Yes, Virginia, we do live in interesting times!
4
jonness
// Jul 15, 2008 at 6:52 pm
Washington just caught up with the national average unemployment rate of 5.5%. Things aren’t looking so good these days.
“Washington’s unemployment rate up slightly in June
OLYMPIA – Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 5.5 percent in June, up from May’s rate of 5.3 percent, according to the state Employment Security Department.
The number of non-agricultural jobs remained unchanged from May. May’s employment originally was reported to have declined by 2,600 jobs, but later was revised to a gain of 800.
“With the number of jobs holding steady, the unemployment rate is up because more people are looking for work. And this time of year, a lot of those new job seekers are recent high school and college graduates who are joining the work force for the first time,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.
The total number of non-agricultural jobs in Washington in June was up 32,800 over the same time in 2007, a 1.1 percent increase. Nationally, year-over-year job growth for the past year was 0.01 percent.
Industries in Washington with the largest job growth in June were manufacturing, with 700 new jobs, and leisure and hospitality, with 600 new jobs. The largest declines were in construction, down 900, financial activities, down 700 jobs, and government, down 400.
An estimated 187,863 people (not seasonally adjusted) were unemployed and seeking work in Washington. ”
You might be thinking, “historically speaking, 5.5% is a very good unemployment rate.” If that’s the case, you probably don’t realize the rate you are being presented is calculated very differently than it was in the past. Read this for more info:
http://www.blueoregon.com/2008/07/myth-busters-un.html
5
jonness
// Jul 15, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Personally, I find it very interesting that Employment Security previously reported the unemployment rate increased from 4.7% to 5.3% in May. And now it is reporting the May data was revised and no jobs were actually lost. The agency goes on to say that June stayed the same as May, thus, no jobs were lost in June either. Imagine that–the unemployment rate has gone from 4.7 to 5.5 percent, and no actual jobs have been lost in the process. It’s all because some college and high school kids are out looking for work that have never had jobs before.
Hmmm…
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