During the 12 months ending August 2000, nonagricultural employment in the Northwest rose 2.1 percent, compared with 1.8 percent for the same period 1 year earlier. Idaho led the region with an impressive 5.7-percent rate of growth, followed by Washington State at 2.0 percent and Alaska at 1.7 percent. Oregon recorded a decline in rate of growth at 1.1 percent.

Idaho's soaring growth rate is attributable to gains in services, as well as in lodging and construction. In Washington, gains also were registered in services, over one-third of which resulted from boosts in computer and data-processing jobs. Construction, trade, and engineering and management services also contributed significantly to the employment increase in Washington. Boeing has continued to cut jobs through the first 9 months of 2000, but at a reduced rate compared with the previous 2 years. Boeing has booked more plane orders earlier than expected, leading some analysts to believe that the company's down cycle is nearing an end, and an expansion cycle is likely to start in 2001.

Unemployment rates in Alaska and Idaho were the region's lowest at 4.3 and 4.4 percent, respectively, while Washington recorded 4.8 percent, and Oregon recorded 5.4 percent. The Boise, Idaho metropolitan area recorded the lowest rate of the region's metropolitan areas at just 3.1 percent as of August.

Sales housing markets in the Northwest region remained strong for the most part, although sales activity has tapered off in some markets. The Seattle metropolitan area reported a 6-percent decline in existing homes sold through the Northwest MLS through September, compared with the first 9 months of 1999. The median price was just shy of $238,000 as of September, up approximately 5.5 percent from September 1999. Sales of existing condominiums in Seattle were up by 5 percent, while new construction condominium sales through MLS were up 46 percent, with a median price of $203,000. Home sales in the Tacoma metropolitan area rose by 12 percent; median prices were in the $155,000 range, having risen 7 percent in the past 12 months ending September 2000.

In Oregon, housing sales activity moderated considerably in 2000. According to the Medford MLS, sales are down 35 percent through June, compared with the same 6-month period in 1999. In the Eugene-Springfield area, sales are down 8.5 percent, and the Salem MSA recorded a 19.7-percent decline. The housing prices in all of these Oregon metropolitan areas are relatively unchanged from 1 year ago.

Single-family building permit activity for the first 9 months of 2000 was down 8 percent in the Northwest region to 42,118 homes. In the Puget Sound area (Seattle-Everett, Tacoma, and Bremerton), permit activity was also off by 13 percent to 11,646 homes. Portland area single-family volume through September 2000 was off 10 percent, compared with the same period in 1999. The Boise metropolitan area continues to be the hottest single-family market in the Northwest, although single-family permits through September were off 8 percent, compared with the very strong first 9 months of 1999.

Multifamily housing building permits in the region during the first 9 months of 2000 totaled 14,871 units, an 18-percent decline compared with the same period in 1999. Most of the decline is due to a cutback in activity in Oregon's major markets after 6 very strong years of multifamily production. Rental market conditions were balanced in the Eugene, Medford, and Portland-Vancouver metropolitan areas but were somewhat soft in Salem. With multifamily building permit activity through September off 87 percent in Eugene, 56 percent in Medford, and 41 percent in Portland, rental market conditions are expected to tighten in the upcoming months. Rental market conditions are tight in Idaho's college towns (Moscow, Rexburg, and Idaho Falls) as well as in Coeur d'Alene and Boise.

The rental markets in the Puget Sound area remain tight. According to the Dupre+Scott Apartment Vacancy Report, apartment vacancy rates in the Puget Sound region are at their lowest levels in 3 years. In the Seattle area, conditions are much tighter in the Bellevue, Redmond, and Issaquah markets than they were 1 year ago. As of September 2000, vacancy rates are below 4 percent, and concessions are no longer common. The Tacoma area recorded a 4.2-percent vacancy rate at the end of the third quarter, compared with 5.8 percent 1 year ago. Eastern Washington markets are still balanced, with vacancy rates of 6.5 percent in Yakima, 7 percent in Spokane, and 5 percent in the Tri-Cities.

Nonagricultural employment in the Boise metropolitan area totaled 221,975 workers as of August, 2000, up a robust 4.6 percent compared with a year ago. Over the past 10 years, employment in the area has annually averaged 4.9 percent, resulting in the creation of nearly 85,000 jobs. The services-producing sector added 8,000 jobs to the local economy between August 1999 and August 2000, for a 5-percent gain. The construction industry added approximately 1,000 jobs in the past 12 months as a result of nonresidential building activity. Major construction projects currently under way include the Micron Engineering Center at Boise State University and the Ada County Courthouse. On the drawing board are the Boise Tower office building and a new airport terminal. As of August 2000, the unemployment rate stood at 3.1 percent, compared with 3.4 percent a year ago.

Boise was the fourth fastest growing metropolitan area in the Nation between 1990 and 1999, its population having grown by 38 percent to 407,800 as of July 1999. Homes are selling at a record pace. According to the Ada County Association of REALTORS®, sales activity during the first 8 months of 2000 totaled 5,656 homes, slightly above the pace of last year. Homes are on the market for an average of only 65 days. The median sales price was $115,700, up 2.8 percent compared with the first 8 months of 1999. New home sales totaled 2,219, almost unchanged from the same period 1 year ago. The median price of a new home in the Boise area was $130,500, up 9.8 percent compared with the first 8 months of 1999. Approximately 35 percent of all homes sold were priced below $100,000, while 15 percent were priced above $200,000. A 3.6-month supply of homes was listed in August, up only slightly compared with August of 1999. Authorizations for construction of single-family dwellings in Ada County totaled 3,857 units through September of 2000, down 7.6 percent from September 1999.

The slower pace of recent construction and the steady growth in renter households moving to the area have contributed to tighter rental housing market conditions during 2000. According to Ada Real Estate's Quarterly Apartment Survey, the rental apartment vacancy rate stood at 2.8 percent as of the end of June 2000, down from 5.3 percent as of June 1999. The same survey reported that the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $670, up 6.3 percent compared with June 1999. The Boise rental market area is expected to remain tight over the next 9 months, with only 450 multifamily units currently under construction and another 400 units in the planning stages in municipalities in the area. Permits were issued for only 359 multifamily units during the first 9 months of 2000, a decline of 37 percent compared with the same period in 1999.