Don Meseck, left, a labor economist for the Washington State Department of Employment Security. Meseck is responsible for monitoring employment data and trends in seven Central Washington counties. Patrick Jones, right, an economist at Eastern Washington University and executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis, which works closely with the Grant County Economic Development Council and the City of Moses Lake to monitor employment, business an…
March 21, 2023
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Farming still crucial to Basin employment
MOSES LAKE — Despite the rise of manufacturing in the Columbia Basin, farming is still the base for all economic activity in the region. “I think about the economies here (in Grant County) and six of the seven counties I serve, they’re heavily agriculture-based,” said Don Meseck, a labor economist with the Washington State Department of Employment Security in Ellensburg. “It doesn’t mean we don’t have other aspects of the economy, but it does mean that agriculture is a pillar of our local economy.” ...