washington business
“ We’ ve got to create an environment where businesses not only come, but the great businesses we have want to stay.”
— Tod Leiweke, president, CEO and minority owner of the Seattle Kraken
Washington employers already face the highest rates for worker’ s comp and unemployment insurance, in addition to higher B & O taxes and a new sales tax on services passed by the Legislature in 2025 – the largest tax increase in state history.
“ We’ ve got to create an environment where businesses not only come, but the great businesses we have want to stay,” Tod Leiweke, president, CEO and minority owner of the Seattle Kraken, said during a discussion at the 2040 launch.
Washington residents’ top economic priorities also include investing in industries like manufacturing that create family-wage jobs. That means creating industry-specific policies and strategies to help the manufacturing sector grow.
pillar two: talent and workforce
By 2040, how can we make Washington home to the best prepared, best trained workforce in the nation?
One key strategy is to create 10,000 new work-based learning experiences every year, such as internships, job shadows or fall 2025 33