Washington Business 2018 AWB Rural Jobs Outlook | Page 15

Rural Jobs Outlook Next Steps Historically, Washington’s rural areas have struggled to keep pace in many key economic measures like unemployment, job growth, labor force trends, median wages, and home prices. In 2017, AWB hosted two summits on rural jobs. Working with state agencies and lawmakers, we created a Rural Jobs Task Force made up of AWB members to identify what’s working and what’s not. The task force adopted a legislative agenda to focus on improving economic prosperity in the rural areas and is developing a broader strategic plan that will look at developing solutions outside of the Legislature. Rural communities are facing many challenges, but they are worth investing in. AWB will continue to work with its partners and rural businesses to create policies and programs that support rural economic development and make rural Washington a place where people can live, work and grow their businesses. For more information, visit www.awb.org or contact Mike Ennis at [email protected].