Business & Economy
[1/11/22] Businesses Plan For Winterfest
Businesses throughout Chelan are preparing and bracing themselves for Winterfest, which starts Friday and goes through the 23rd. The annual festival that brings thousands of visitors to Chelan. Jill Babcock with the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce says the hotels will be full this weekend, and the Winterfest buttons are on sale; she says the […]
[1/10/22] Who Hired In November?
As we’ve reported, the unemployment rate in Chelan and Douglas counties, officially known as the Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area, dropped to a historic low in November of 3-point-7 percent. So who’s doing the hiring? Regional Labor Economist Don Meseck: It should be noted that those numbers were compiled before the omicron variant was discovered, so […]
[1/7/22] November Jobless Numbers
The employment figures for November have been released by the Employment Security Department, and it shows a mixed picture. According to Regional Labor Economist Don Meseck, the jobless number for Chelan and Douglas Counties is at its lowest point: There’s also some good news in the labor force numbers: But there’s some mixed news in […]
[1/4/22] Brewster Chamber Annual Letter
The Brewster Chamber of Commerce released its 2021 President’s Summary last Thursday. Essentially an annual report, the letter reflects on the previous year, and the chamber’s plans for 2022. Brewster Chamber President Mike Mauk said the record heat over the fourth of July caused some changes in the event, but that all went well, and […]
[1/4/22] Winthrop Needs Dentists
If you know a dentist who’s looking for a new place to set up shop, recommend him or her to Winthrop, because they need a new dentist, and probably more than one. That’s because longtime dentist Dr. Stephen Harrop of Winthrop Dental Care had his last patient Thursday, he retired after 25 years in the […]
[12/30/21] New Owners For Chelan Fruit
An item we’re not surprised to see: the Chelan Fruit Cooperative has been acquired by the International Farming (“IFC”), an institutional asset manager connecting investors at the nexus of farmland, farmers and food. A press release stated that IFC has been a partner for Chelan Fruit for six years prior to the transaction and will […]
[12/15/21] Alcoa’s Wenatchee Works Smelter To Be Shuttered
It was 70 years ago, in 1951 that the Aluminum Corporation of America, Alcoa, began construction of an aluminum smelter in the Malaga area. On Monday, six years after the smelter was closed, Alcoa announced the smelter is being, in its words, “permanently discontinued.” The announcement ends any remaining hope that the 28-hundred acre site, […]
[12/10/21] October Unemployment Numbers For Okanogan County
Jobless numbers for Okanogan County for October were released earlier this week. The unemployment rate dropped from 5-point-9 percent in October of last year to 4-point-3 percent this October. Regional Labor Economist Don Meseck is back to explain: As a matter of fact, it’s down about four percent from 2019 levels. Meseck blames that on […]
[12/9/21] Chelan Retail Sales Up 70% In Second Quarter
The State Department of Revenue came out with retail sales figures for the second quarter of 2021, and they show a sizable increase statewide over the second quarter of 2020. In the city of Chelan, retail sales were up almost 70 percent, from 50 million dollars in the second quarter of 2020 to 85 million […]
[12/8/21] Who’s Hiring?
We told you yesterday that the jobless rate in Chelan and Douglas Counties was at 3.7 percent in October, which was up slightly from September, but down more than one and a half percent from October last year. The Labor Area Summary for Chelan and Douglas counties shows nonfarm employment increased by three thousand jobs […]