Washington (state) - Economy

Economy

Main article: Economy of Washington (U.S. state) See also: Mountain recreation economy of Washington

The 2010 total gross state product for Washington was $351.5 billion, placing it 14th in the nation. The per capita personal income in 2009 was $52,403, 10th in the nation. Significant business within the state include the design and manufacture of aircraft (Boeing), automotive (Paccar), computer software development (Microsoft, Bungie, Amazon.com, Nintendo of America, Valve Corporation), Arena Net, telecom (T-Mobile USA), electronics, biotechnology, aluminum production, lumber and wood products (Weyerhaeuser), mining, beverages (Starbucks, Jones Soda), real estate (John L. Scott), retail (Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Car Toys, Costco, R.E.I.), and tourism (Alaska Airlines, Expedia, Inc.). The state has significant amounts of hydroelectric power generation.

Significant amounts of trade with Asia pass through the ports of the Puget Sound. (See list of United States companies by state.) A Fortune magazine survey of the top 20 Most Admired Companies in the US has 4 Washington based companies in it, Amazon.com, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Costco.

With the passage of Initiative 1183, the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) ended its monopoly of all state liquor store and liquor distribution operations on June 1, 2012.

Among its resident billionaires, Washington boasts Bill Gates, chairman and former CEO of Microsoft, who, with a net worth of $40 billion, was ranked the second wealthiest man in the world as of February 2011, according to Forbes magazine. Other Washington state billionaires include Paul Allen (Microsoft), Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Craig McCaw (McCaw Cellular Communications), James Jannard (Oakley), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), and Charles Simonyi (Microsoft).

As of May 2012, the state's unemployment rate is 8.3 percent.

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