Seattle region's Kidder Matthews First Quarter Seattle Industrial Report Pierce County South King County Snohomish County Looking beyond pre-leased and future move-ins, the region's employment picture as reported by the Puget Sound Economic Forecaster indicates that there is evidence of “changes in the wind.” After a strong recovery where our region was outpacing the nation, the forecast for 2016 is for employment to grow by 1.8%, similar to the national forecast. This compared to the 2.9% growth in 2015 and 2.8% in 2014. While these changes point to lower job growth, the economists believe that there is little reason for alarm. With regional job growth converging with the national growth, the belief is that if the nation avoids a recession over the next few years, (a likely prospect given its slow rate of recovery) so will the region. One thing to watch locally is the building boom, which may have peaked. If signs of overbuilding suddenly emerge as the economy loses steam, then a drop in construction may point us in a different direction. While Boeing has been reducing its workforce in the state and moving jobs to non-union states (they now employ fewer than 80,000 workers in Washington state), their new CEO appears to have smoothed things over with the recent negotiations and approval of the latest contract with Boeing's largest union. Over the next several months, it will be interesting to see if Boeing is still committed to Washington state. VACANT SPACE/VACANCY RATE