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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, July 8, 2007 Dreamliner creates thousands of new jobs By Michelle Dunlop, Herald Writer With its 787 jet, the Boeing Co. brought back the job boom to Snohomish County. Nearly four years have passed since Boeing selected Everett has the final assembly site for its 787 Dreamliner. In doing so, Boeing put the brakes on the skidding job market that Snohomish County had faced since the economic downturn of 2001. As the company looks to roll out its new Dreamliner, Boeing's bright future is reflected in the county's work force. "Growth prospects look very good," Robert Chase, a regional economist, said recently. Those prospects are due in part to the Dreamliner's growing backlog, which topped 600 orders at the end of June. When Boeing decided in late 2003 to build the Dreamliner in Everett, the company employed about 54,000 people in Washington state. Snohomish County listed 23,000 aerospace workers. Since that time, the company has added 16,000 employees statewide while Snohomish County has seen 7,000 of those additional aerospace workers join its folds. Many of Boeing's new employees, however, work on its other plane lines, which have also enjoyed a jump in orders over the past few years. Boeing predicted that assembling the 787 in Everett would create between 800 and 1,200 jobs for people working directly on the 787 line. However, it was the residual impacts of the 787, not the direct jobs, that gave hope to state and local officials such as Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. "The ancillary impacts of Boeing building the 787 in Snohomish County has been tremendous," Reardon said. The average unemployment rate for Snohomish County reached 7.1 percent in 2003. In December 2003, Boeing announced it had selected Everett as the 787 final assembly site. The county's unemployment rate steadily declined to 5.7 percent in 2004 and 4.6 percent in 2006. Boeing's decision to assemble the 787 in Everett had an almost immediate impact on employers in the county, says Donna Thompson, a regional labor economist with the state Employment Security Department. Companies that had held off on hiring began bringing on new workers. When selecting its 787 final assembly site, Boeing emphasized the need for a trained work force. Washington state stepped up to the plate, offering to pitch in $10 million to build a training center in Everett. The Employment Resource Center opened its doors Sept. 5, 2006. Boeing gets to use the site for five years. The center has been a training site for 787 final assembly workers. Edmonds Community College helps oversee various assessments that candidates must pass before being selected to work at Boeing. The aerospace company conducts the final assembly training. Boeing estimates roughly 1,100 applicants will finish training at the center in 2007. When will the aerospace boom go bust? Economist Chase believes that Boeing and Washington state can enjoy the upswing a bit longer. Chase estimates that by the middle of 2008 there will be nearly 85,000 aerospace workers - for Boeing and its suppliers - in Washington, up from just over 78,000 in May 2007. And Boeing has enough orders for just the 787 to keep workers on that line very busy well into 2013. "As Boeing goes, so goes the industry," Chase said.

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