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Labor Force Participation Sinks to 61.5%, a 50-Year Low as Prime-Age Workers Exit
A sweeping retreat from the U.S. workforce pushed labor force participation to its lowest level in half a century outside the pandemic, with...
Harvard’s 2026 Housing Report Signals a Demand-Side Reckoning as Household Growth Slows and Sales Freeze at 30-Year Lows
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies warns that the housing market’s central problem is shifting from a supply-and-price shock to a broad weakening...
OpenAI, Uber Anchor 3.4MM SQFT Leasing Surge as Puget Sound Office Market Turns Corner in 2026
A wave of long-term commitments from artificial intelligence, software and professional-services tenants pushed Puget Sound office leasing up 62 percent in the first...
Gensler Research Finds the District, Not the Stadium, Now Drives Fan Decisions Across North America
New research from the Gensler Research Institute, drawn from nearly 6,000 residents across major U.S. and Canadian metros, finds that the neighborhoods built...
Oregon Trails West Coast Neighbors With 1.1% GDP Growth in First Quarter
Oregon’s economy grew at a 1.1 percent annualized rate in the first quarter of 2026, roughly half the national pace and a fraction...
HKS Health Studio Leader on Why Hospital Design’s Biggest Disruption Isn’t the Technology
HKS principal Brian Zeallear, who leads the firm’s Seattle health studio, argues that artificial intelligence is accelerating how hospitals get designed but insists...
Washington Leads Nation in Q1 GDP Growth at 4.5% on Tech Strength
Washington’s economy expanded at a 4.5 percent annualized rate in the first quarter of 2026 — the fastest of any state — as...
Goldman Cuts US Recession Odds to 15% as Oil Retreats, but Warns of Hawkish Fed and Stretched AI Valuations
Goldman Sachs has lowered its 12-month US recession probability to the long-term norm of 15 percent following a US-Iran agreement that pulled energy...
West Marine to Close Five Washington Stores in Chapter 11 Restructuring, From Bellingham to Spokane
West Marine will shutter five stores across Washington, from the Bellingham waterfront to Spokane’s east side, as the bankrupt boating-supply chain executes the...
Gensler’s City Pulse 2026 Flags Downtown Portland’s Vibrancy Gap as Authenticity Holds Firm
Downtown Portland holds onto a strong sense of authenticity in Gensler’s largest-ever global study of urban experience, but the city’s core ranks among...
Willamette River Recreation Generates $311MM in Annual Economic Value, ECOnorthwest Study Finds
A new ECOnorthwest analysis presented to Portland civic and business leaders quantifies the Willamette River’s recreational economy for the first time, valuing it...
Downtown Seattle Ranks Fourth-Stickiest in the U.S. in Gensler’s City Pulse 2026
Downtown Seattle ranked as the fourth-stickiest downtown in the United States in Gensler’s global study of urban experience, a top-tier showing that sets...
