Economic growth in California accelerated in the second quarter, and the state unemployment rate fell about 1/2 percentage point.
The Washington state economy is beginning to show the effects of a pickup in business at Boeing Aircraft Co..
Relatively rapid growth continued in Oregon and in the Intermountain states, but a few major high-tech employers in these areas recently announced the scaling back of planned operations.
Fast expansion of high-technology businesses has fueled rapid growth in parts of California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Intermountain states. An analysis of the diverse trends among high-tech firms suggests that parts of California and the Pacific Northwest are better-positioned than the Intermountain states to take advantage of further near-term growth in high-tech industries.