Addressing the timing of economic recovery, Michael J. Parks,owner and publisher of Marple's Business Newsletter, remarked,"We're going to have to wait until 2003 for the Pacific Northwest.The State of Washington and the Puget Sound metropolitan area areabout to experience their first recession since 1982." Whilenationally there is talk the recession is in retreat, Parks warns,"The aerospace decline will deepen the recession already under wayin Washington State."

The first 5,000 of Boeing's announced 20,000 layoffs arescheduled for today--the remainder by mid-year 2002. Looking back,more than 118,000 were riding Boeing's payroll in the secondquarter of 1998. The predicted future: just 65,000 by the end of2003.

And, it's not just the number of layoffs hitting theeconomy--those are high-paying jobs going down the drain. Jobs thataverage about $60,000, compared to the statewide average of$38,000.