Retail sales plunge in Snohomish County, rest of state

Published 11:04 pm Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Taxable retail sales, a major source of money used to fund city, county and state governments in Washington, dropped by nearly 13 percent during the first three months of this year.

Retailers and others subject to the tax saw sales drop a total of $23.2 billion, according to a report released Wednesday by the state Department of Revenue.

Among the hardest industries hit was construction, which saw a $4.5 billion cut amounting to a 20.4 percent drop in comparison to the first quarter of 2008. Motor vehicles and parts dropped by 23.3 percent and hotels and restaurants dropped by 5 percent. Retailers alone saw sales drop by 18.3 percent from January through March.

In the most populous counties, Snohomish saw sales drop 14.6 percent, King had a falloff of 15.3 percent, Pierce had sales fall 11.6 percent, Spokane only saw a drop of 7.7 percent and Clark had a 15.6 percent drop. In Island County, retail sales fell slightly more than 5 percent.

Major retail centers in Snohomish County were the hardest hit, with Everett falling 18.56 percent and Lynnwood dropping slightly more than 19 percent.

LOCAL SALES

Taxable retail sales for the first quarter of 2009 in Snohomish County cities.

City Sales Change

Arlington$73.4 million -21.77%

Brier$4.5 million+21.56%

Edmonds$116.3 million-14.3%

Everett$537.1 million -18.56%

Gold Bar$2.8 million-1.96%

Granite Falls $10.4 million-11.2%

Lake Stevens$56.4 million +15.4%

Lynnwood$401.6 million-19.09%

Marysville$170.4 million-8.65%

Mill Creek$48.5 million -11.09%

Monroe$79.2 million -21.18

Mntlake Terrace $35.8 million-1.14%

Mukilteo $44.8 million -15.39%

Snohomish$69.5 million -26.65%

Stanwood$28.3 million -8.68%

Sultan$7 million-13.38%

Woodway$3.2 million-7.78%

Source: State Department of Revenue