prefers to be billed as an economic "handicapper" rather than a forecaster of economic or demographic conditions for Spokane and the Inland Northwest. But regardless of billing, Mr. Higgins has been sharing his thoughts on the area economy and changes in its demographic components for more than 20 years, having appeared 19 times as guest speaker at annual Spokane Advertising Federation meetings.
On February 7, 2008, Higgins addressed attendees at the Economic Outlook Conference 2008 put on by the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce at the Mirabeau Park Hotel in Spokane Valley, Washington. Higgins told the audience that the mortgage crisis that's creating waves of foreclosures and tighter access to credit nationwide will affect the local economy, but not to expect a recession in the Inland Northwest in 2008.
"We're going to continue to see growth and we're still on a positive pattern," Higgins said. In fact, he's looking for growth of 2.1 percent in total economic activity in Spokane this year and growth of 2.5 percent in Coeur d'Alene.
We're pleased to offer you Mr. Higgins' complete slide presentation:
Population, Jobs, Housing and Spending in the Inland Northwest
An Economic Overview and Forecast for 2008
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Below are links to several other reports given by Mr. Higgins in years past, covering demographic overviews and economic forecasts for Spokane and the Inland Northwest, as well as slides from an economic presentation in Lewiston, Idaho. Some of the reports are in PDF format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing. If you have trouble opening any of the documents, you may download the free software at Adobe Reader.