By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In our last newsletter, we announced the release of the 2023 OFM Population Report. In this article, we discuss some of the highlights from the OFM data.
August 1, 2023 By
Highlights from OFM Population Number Report
July 28, 2023 By
2023 Population Numbers Released by OFM
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
City and County April 1 annual population estimates are released the beginning of July by the Office of Financial Management Forecasting and Research Division.
March 22, 2021 By
Wage Series Part 4: The Impact of COVID on Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the fourth part of our early 2021 wages series. In the last article in our 2021 wage series, we looked at all Washington public safety settlements from 2019 to 2021. That report showed a downward trend in 2021 settlements.
March 22, 2021 By
Wage Series Part 3: Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the third part of our 2021 wage series. In this article, we take a look at recent contract settlements and examine how those trends vary from recent previous years. Our view of 2019 and 2020 settlements and what we have so far from 2021 indicates that the Washington State public sector wages dropped in 2021 but not as substantially as employers might suggest. We see some wage increases with little substantial “real wage” growth (as measured once controlled for inflation). Whether a growing economy eventually will accelerate these is something we’ll discuss later in this series.
July 17, 2015 By
Wage Series Part 4: How Do Your Wages Stack Up: Statewide Commissioned City and County Wage Rankings
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In part 4 of our on-going wage series we now turn to the rankings of County Deputy and City Police Officer rankings throughout the State. This series always produces both expected and unexpected information about the relative standing of jurisdictions.
July 15, 2015 By
Wage Series Part 3: Current economic conditions — Weak National Economy Creates Uncertainty for Local Economies
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the third article in our 11 part series reporting on contract settlement trends. This article highlights some of the recent economic developments most likely to impact your negotiations outlook.
In our recent Blog, we noted the recent improvement in the Seattle economy as reported in the February “Economic and Revenue Update” from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (WSERFC). Washington employment was slightly higher than forecast; housing construction improved; Seattle area home prices continue to rise; and Washington exports reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2014.
July 13, 2015 By
Wage Series Part 2: Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts — An Ever So Slightly Rising Trend Line
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the second part of our 11 part Summer 2015 wage series. In this article we take a look at recent contract settlements and examine how those trends vary from recent previous years. Our view of 2013 and 2014 settlements and what we have so far from 2015 indicates that the Washington State public safety employee wages are a mirror of national wage stagnation. We see flat wage increases with little substantial real wage growth. Whether a growing economy eventually will accelerate these is something we’ll discuss later in this series.
July 7, 2015 By
Cline and Casillas Release New Version of Premium Website
April 19, 2013 By
Wage Series Part 10: A Review of Recession Era Interest Arbitration Awards — 2008-2013
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
As part of our spring 2013 wage series, it seemed important to interject a discussion about how arbitrators have ruled in the recent economic climate. I recently spoke on many of the same points at the Annual PERC sponsored Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Conference, so this seems like an appropriate time for this review.
April 16, 2013 By
Wage Series Part 9: Does Geographic Location Matter?
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In the previous two articles in this wage series, we discussed the extent to which population and assessed valuation correlated with wage rankings. In this article, we discuss geographic location and the effect of various labor markets on public safety wages.
