business backgrounder | manufacturing
“ We think it ’ s important to understand the vital contributions these firms make to our economy , in order to shape policies that encourage their retention and expansion here .”
— Kris Johnson , president , AWB
manufacturing and ict build a strong economy
“ These [ industries ] are major drivers of wealth ,” Cohen says . “ Other states would just kill to have what Washington has .” The report documents the tremendous reach of manufacturing and ICT in the state , including agri-tech , biotech , energy , space and aerospace , and transportation .
Interstate competition for tech and manufacturing jobs was intense before the pandemic . As states struggle to rebuild economies in the coming months , these are the sectors they will look to as they seek new investment and employment opportunities .
Marty Brown , whose career in state government includes leading the state budget office and the community and technical college system , says the study demonstrates significant intrastate growth opportunities .
Citing the employment concentration in the central Puget Sound region , he believes the state can do more to encourage expansion to regions with high unemployment and lower-cost land and housing .
“ I would see who has good power , who has good land , who has access to training and try to boost those areas ,” Brown says , suggesting a targeted plan for development , one with closer ties to local efforts by Public Utility Districts and ports .
“ I think we can grow our own ,” he says . “ We usually do a better job of growing our own than recruiting .”
With improved broadband access , something that ’ s a business and legislative priority this year , employment can be more broadly distributed .
“ Being a bedroom community is not necessarily a bad thing ,” Brown says . “ People are working from their bedrooms ” during this odd pandemic year .
Cohen speaks of the geographic diffusion of work . It may not be a paradigm shift , he says , but for some communities the presence of an emerging cluster of entrepreneurs or tech workers could “ eventually evolve into their own organic development [ opportunity ].”
Those eventual opportunities stem from Washington ’ s strong economic base , well-documented in Cohen ’ s research . For the opportunities to be realized , Washington must first tend to the foundations .
“ The report shows how much the state depends on healthy manufacturing and tech industries ,” Johnson says . “ Our future depends on maintaining and expanding on the success we ’ ve enjoyed . The competition is intense . As we ’ re pulling out of a recession , the very least we can do — as AWB has been saying this legislative session — is to do no harm .”
40 association of washington business