These are The Top 18 Washington Colleges Ranked by Salary after Graduation

Puget Sound Business Journal | Emily Parkhurst | January 5

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/01/05/washington-state-colleges-graduate-salaries-ranked.html

“The U.S. Department of Education has released its annual list of the top schools based on how graduates make after receiving degrees. In addition to the graduation salary data, the federal agency also released the average yearly costs associated with the schools and their graduation rates. Combined, it presents an interesting picture of the state’s higher education options. The top-ranked school, for example, is a Redmond organization that trains workers for the fast-growing video game industry.”

 

These are the Fastest Growing Jobs in Washington

Seattle PI | Zosha Millman | January 5

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/These-are-the-fastest-growing-jobs-in-Washington-10838634.php

“If you’re in one of these 20 industries then congratulations! You’re projected for job growth in the next few years. The job market can be a tricky thing; there are some jobs that were indispensable only 20 years ago that are now very sparse, and others that weren’t even invented yet that are now where the money is. Luckily, sites like Zippia are working hard to crunch the data released by the Department of Labor in order to better predict what jobs will be (or stay) in high demand in the coming year…Zippia collected that data, identified the occupations that are projected to have at least 1,000 workers in 2024, and was left with 376 occupations in Washington state.”

 

$15 Minimum Wage Starts in Seattle

KOMO News | Jennifer Sullivan | January 4

http://komonews.com/news/local/15-minimum-wage-starts-in-seattle

“A minimum wage of $15 an hour has started in Seattle for the city’s largest employers…’Seattle is well ahead of most cities in the nation, but what we started here by launching the $15 dollars now grassroots campaign is now nationwide,’ said Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant. Dylan Orr, who directs the city’s Office of Labor and Standards, said his office has fielded plenty of questions in the last couple of days from employers and employees…Today there are four different minimum wages in Seattle, ranging from $11 to $15, depending on the company’s size.”

 

Bellevue’s Growth Surge Shows No Signs of Stopping

Seattle Times | Seattle Times Editorial Board | January 1

http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/bellevues-growth-surge-shows-no-signs-of-stopping/

“ONE of the remarkable stories of 2016 was the continued growth of downtown Bellevue.

While Seattle’s Amazon-fueled construction boom drew most of the attention, Bellevue experienced it’s own surge of new office and apartment buildings. This pattern, and Bellevue’s capacity to accommodate more of the region’s new jobs and residents, is an important consideration as growth policies evolve.

Bellevue is addressing this in part by updating plans for the downtown, Bel-Red and Wilburton areas.”

 

Seattle’s Record Apartment Boom is Ready to Explode; What It Means for Rents

Seattle Times | Mike Rosenberg | December 30

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattles-record-apartment-boom-is-ready-to-explode/

“The apartment boom in Seattle has already reached historic heights — more units opened in each of the past four years than ever before. Now, the real boom is about to begin. Seattle is set to see almost 10,000 new market-rate apartments open in 2017, nearly twice as many as in any other year in the city’s history. With the construction surge set to continue through the rest of the decade, rent increases that have hit Seattle about as hard as any city in the country are forecast to be cut in half during 2017.”