Trends: Government is the largest local employer

Government is the biggest employer in Benton and Franklin counties, but it’s share of the pie is decreasing.

Benton-Franklin Trends takes a look at the employment levels of the region’s major employers in its weekly report on the state of the local economy.

The government category covers a wide range of workers at local, state and federal agencies as well as schools and the military. An estimated 16.2 percent of local jobs are associated with the government.

The Benton-Franklin area is less dependent on government jobs than the state. On average, 17.2 percent of Washington workers are employed by the government.

Health care is the fastest-rising employer locally and statewide. Health-related jobs accounted for 11.6 percent of the Tri-City workforce, up from 8.1 percent in 2005.

Agriculture and related industries account for 10.7 percent of jobs, as does the retail sector. Administration and waste services is 9.2 percent of the workforce.

Benton-Franklin Trends is an initiative of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis at Eastern Washington to research civic, economic and educational trends in the region. It publishes new statistics on a variety of topics every week. Check it out at bit.ly/BFTrends.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Trends: Government is the largest local employer."