A thriving, diverse community of employers is a crucial ingredient for ensuring a steady supply of good jobs and a more stable employment rate. King Co unty must address multiple issues to continue attracting employees and employers, whether large commercial operations, family-owned bookshops or nonprofits. These issues touch on areas from quality of life to energy and other resources, from infrastructure to governmental regulation. The region’s natural beauty and lifestyle make it a pleasant place to live and work, and local universities and other research institutions do a good job supporting industry growth. But soaring real estate prices make the region expensive for employers and their employees, and struggling public schools in some areas are a challenge for families. Businesses and residents alike complain about the region’s overwhelmed highways and transportation infrastructure. And even as the area struggles to preserve its greenspace and keep water and air clean, employers still need energy, natural resources and room to grow.
- Support local educational and research institutions, which advance industry, entrepreneurship and job creation, and make the region a good place to live.
- Expand arts, culture and heritage institutions and preserve the region's natural spaces, which significantly enhance the region's attractiveness to talented employees.
- Develop policy solutions on transportation, taxes, regulation, energy and housing through think tanks, business groups or community organizations.
- Encourage coalitions among business, government and community groups on issues of common interest.
- Provide capacity building or diversity training to small employers and nonprofits.
- The Institute for Systems Biology unravels the mysteries of human immunity and disease, attracts new talent to the region and spawns growth in small biotech businesses.
- The Prosperity Partnership brings together more than 150 government, business, labor and community organizations to work on ensuring long-term economic prosperity and creating 100,000 new jobs for the central Puget Sound region.
- Enterprise Seattle helps recruit high value companies to King County by providing information and other assistance, and connecting businesses with local government, research institutions and workforce groups.
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