PSRC was part of a watershed event this morning. We were joined by local leaders from across the region to launch the Partnership for Competitive Puget Sound with Challenge Seattle to strengthen the region’s ability to retain employers, attract investment and create jobs.
The Puget Sound region was one of the fastest growing job markets in the country leading up to the pandemic. But after a post-pandemic recovery, job growth has been stagnant for over three years. It’s time to take action.
We opened the conversation on economic development issues facing our region with former Governor Christine Gregoire, CEO Erik Nordstrom, Microsoft Vice-President Brad Smith and JP Morgan Chase Managing Director Kerri Shroeder at our General Assembly in May.
Some of you may remember the successful work we did to launch the Prosperity Partnership under similar regional economic circumstances in 2004. We have a proud history of successful economic development initiatives that bring together business, government, labor, higher education and communities to take coordinated regional actions. I look forward to bringing that expertise to this partnership.
We are ready to roll up our sleeves together with a new generation of local elected leaders to get to work to ensure our region remains strong and competitive for both businesses and workers.
Here are some Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound resources:
- Launch video
- Keeping Puget Sound Strong: A Regional Plan for Jobs and Opportunity
- Playbook for Puget Sound Mayors
The press release highlighting reflections from local leaders is shared below:
Amid Economic Warning Signs, Regional Leaders Launch Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound
Building on Puget Sound’s strengths to compete for the future, leaders commit to action with practical tools, regional leadership and new funding
SEATTLE - With economic warning signs mounting, Challenge Seattle today joined business and government leaders across King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties to launch the Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound. The partnership builds on the region’s strengths with coordinated action to restore competitiveness, retain employers, attract investment, and create jobs.
At today’s launch, county leaders committed to working together to champion Puget Sound, strengthen employer relationships, and attract jobs and investment. Challenge Seattle released Keeping Puget Sound Strong: A Regional Plan for Jobs and Opportunity and Building a Culture of Partnership: A Playbook for Puget Sound Mayors. Together with its members, Challenge Seattle also announced $1 million in funding for Greater Seattle Partners to implement key components of the economic development plan.
Puget Sound’s strengths position it to compete with the world’s leading regions for jobs, talent, and investment. The region is home to a highly educated workforce, strong career pathways, a vibrant innovation sector, affordable clean energy, global trade connections, major federal research investments, and a robust defense presence. Its natural environment also draws people from around the world. Together, these advantages have fueled years of job creation and wage growth above the national average and provide a strong foundation for future growth.
Yet those strengths no longer guarantee the region’s continued success.
Puget Sound lost jobs in 2025 after years of stagnant job growth, even as employment grew nationally. Between 2017 and 2026, Washington’s cost-of-doing business ranking fell from 32nd to 47th, and its business-friendliness ranking dropped from 31st to 40th. The state also has the nation’s lowest five-year business survival rate. Restoring competitiveness will require leaders to address rising costs, reduced predictability, and affordability pressures that make it harder for the region to compete.
“We cannot count on past success to deliver the next generation of jobs,” said former Governor Chris Gregoire, CEO of Challenge Seattle. “Puget Sound has the talent, the companies and the leadership to compete with anyone. But in recent years, we have made it too hard to build, too expensive to operate and too unpredictable to invest. Today, we are collectively committing to restore our competitiveness and backing that commitment with practical solutions. In the end, partnership is the answer to compete.”
Challenge Seattle’s initiative builds on Puget Sound’s history of regional collaboration, including the Prosperity Partnership launched in 2004, and renews the region’s commitment to practical action to restore competitiveness.
Regional Leadership and Collaboration
The partnership connects regional leadership with local action across public, private, and community partners. Leaders from King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties will champion Puget Sound as a place to start, grow, and invest in a business. They will strengthen employer and industry relationships, pursue investment and expansion, and address barriers to job growth. On shared priorities, they will speak with a unified regional voice to local elected officials, the Governor, Legislature, congressional delegation, and the public, reporting progress and identifying further action.
“The South Sound is brimming with vibrant culture, future-focused businesses and global potential,” said Ryan Mello, Pierce County Executive. “We play a central role in the region’s economy as a hub for maritime, trade, logistics, defense and advanced manufacturing. We are building on these assets by listening to our employers, helping our existing businesses stay and grow, and investing in our workforce. Our economy doesn’t stop at city or county boundaries. When we work together across those boundaries, we can do more for our businesses, our workers, and our communities.”
“The Navy is an anchor of Kitsap County’s economy, sustaining generations of skilled workers and a network of local businesses that support our national defense,” said Christine Rolfes, Kitsap County Commissioner. “That strength reaches across Puget Sound, creating opportunities for employers, workers, and communities throughout our region. By partnering across our counties, we can create a stronger regional voice on our economy and jobs. Together, we can help businesses stay and grow, prepare people for careers in our growing industries, and maintain the quality of life that makes people want to build their lives here.”
“Snohomish County is home to globally important industries, innovative employers, and communities ready to grow,” said Dave Somers, Snohomish County Executive. “Regional partnership allows us to build on those strengths while addressing the workforce, infrastructure, and business climate challenges no county can solve alone. By working as one region, we can support aerospace and manufacturing, advance emerging opportunities in areas like fusion energy and sustainable aviation fuels, attract new investment, and connect more people to good jobs.”
“Puget Sound remains an economic powerhouse, but to stay competitive we must come together as leaders from across the region to act with urgency and align in new ways that allow us to work better and more efficiently,” said Girmay Zahilay, King County Executive. “We also have to keep investing in what makes this a region where people want to live and work and businesses want to start and grow, including more housing and childcare, strong transit, and the infrastructure we need to create opportunity for generations to come.”
“I have seen what we can accomplish when we build lasting partnerships and invest in our communities,” said Leonard Forsman, Chairman of the Suquamish Tribe. “The Suquamish Tribe’s investments create jobs and opportunities that extend throughout the region. This partnership can help ensure the next generation has the opportunity to work, raise families, and build their futures here.”
Together, the report’s recommendations and Building a Culture of Partnership: A Playbook for Puget Sound Mayors build on the work local leaders and Associate Development Organizations, such as chambers of commerce and economic development councils, already do to support employers. They offer practical approaches to help cities address business needs, resolve barriers to growth, and strengthen the region’s competitiveness. This fall, Challenge Seattle also expects to invest $500,000 to help cities speed up permitting.
“Businesses are a vital part of our cities,” said Cassie Franklin, Mayor, City of Everett. “Local government plays a critical role in creating the conditions that allow businesses to succeed. The Mayor’s Playbook gives local leaders the practical tools to welcome employers, understand what they need and help them invest with confidence.”
“Cities of every size have a role in shaping our region’s economic future, and we’re ready to lead by supporting employers of every size, helping existing businesses expand, and creating opportunities for the next generation of companies to take root in Puget Sound,” said Armondo Pavone, Mayor of Renton and Board President of the Sound Cities Association. “Across King County, our midsized and large employers connect us to regional and global opportunities, while our local shops, restaurants, and small businesses create jobs and give our neighborhoods their character. Working together, we can make our cities places where businesses invest with confidence and people build lasting futures.”
“Puget Sound’s defense and maritime sectors are national assets and major sources of family-wage jobs,” said Greg Wheeler, Mayor, City of Bremerton. “The historic investment in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is a generational game changer for Kitsap County, our region, and Washington state, creating new opportunities for small businesses, manufacturers, and suppliers across Puget Sound. By working together, we can turn that investment into good jobs, a stronger industrial base, and promise for generations to come.”
“Seattle has a remarkable history of turning bold ideas into innovations that change the world. To continue our success, we must be more intentional about building a resilient, diversified economy where businesses can start here, grow here, and succeed here, and where workers can afford to build a life,” said Katie B. Wilson, Mayor, City of Seattle. “Seattle’s success is connected to the strength of the entire Puget Sound region. By working across cities and counties and alongside our business and labor partners, we can grow industries of the future, make it easier for employers to invest and grow, create good jobs, and help more people build their futures in our region.”
“Kitsap brings deep expertise in defense and shipbuilding, skilled talent, and a network of local businesses that serve customers across Puget Sound and beyond,” said Joe Morrison, Executive Director of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance. “In Kitsap, we're helping companies build on those strengths by pursuing new contracts, reaching new markets, and finding the space and workforce they need to expand. With a shared focus on the region’s key industries, we can better anticipate what businesses need, coordinate investments, and create lasting economic opportunity in our communities.”
“Snohomish County brings extraordinary assets to the Puget Sound economy, from skilled workers and deep expertise in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and maritime to pioneering work in emerging industries,” said Ray Stephanson, President & CEO, Economic Alliance Snohomish County. “We have built strong relationships with employers by listening to their needs, helping them solve problems, and connecting them with the workforce, infrastructure, and resources they need to grow. A renewed focus on regional economic development will allow us to put that experience and those relationships to work across county lines, building on our complementary strengths, attracting investment, and creating more family wage jobs throughout Puget Sound.”
Turning Planning into Action
Greater Seattle Partners (GSP) will lead efforts to implement Challenge Seattle’s economic development plan and advance recommendations in partnership with the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). With funding from Challenge Seattle and its members, GSP will bring employers and public leaders together to address shared business challenges and put successful practices to work across the region. PSRC will provide economic data and work with GSP to assess competitiveness and implementation progress, building on PSRC’s ongoing federal Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Employers, labor and educational institutions will help identify business needs, develop solutions, and connect people to careers.
“Puget Sound has extraordinary talent, innovative businesses, and global reach,” said Shannon Braddock, President & CEO, Greater Seattle Partners. “Other regions across the country are competing to recruit our region's talent and businesses, so we cannot be complacent; we must step up and be competitive. Challenge Seattle’s new investment will help Greater Seattle Partners and regional leaders retain and grow the businesses already here, recruit new companies, and attract investment. Together, we can leverage our region’s strengths to support our businesses that create jobs for our communities.”
“Puget Sound was one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, but job growth has now flatlined,” said Josh Brown, Executive Director, Puget Sound Regional Council. “This is a wake-up call. Our strengths span cities and counties, and our strategy to compete and grow must do the same. By bringing business, government, labor, higher education, and communities together, we can turn our shared values and priorities into coordinated regional action.”
“The Puget Sound region’s greatest strength is its people,” said Heather Kurtenbach, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council. “We have a highly skilled and trained workforce, world-class industries, strong labor standards, and a culture that values collaboration. When we invest in our workers, we invest in our region’s economic future. A skilled workforce attracts employers, supports business growth, increases productivity, and strengthens communities. Working together, we can build even stronger partnerships among labor, business, government, education, and community organizations to address our region’s challenges.”
“Working people power every industry that makes Puget Sound strong, and their voices must help shape our region’s economic future,” said April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFLCIO. “By partnering, we can invest together in education, training, and the support people need to succeed. We can strengthen our economy, expand access to family-wage careers, and create lasting opportunity for workers and their families rooted in dignity on the job.”
Real Solutions to Restore Competitiveness
Challenge Seattle’s Keeping Puget Sound Strong: A Regional Plan for Jobs and Opportunity offers a practical jobs agenda for the region, focused on the conditions that shape whether businesses choose to start, stay, hire and invest here.
Its 20 near-term recommendations address the culture of partnership, tax predictability, the cumulative effects of policies and regulations, permitting, and connections between employers and colleges and universities.
The plan calls for action to strengthen technology, aerospace, defense, and maritime, alongside emerging industries such as clean energy. These sectors support jobs, suppliers, and small businesses across the four counties and drive the region’s competitiveness. Some recommendations can begin within weeks or months; all can begin or make meaningful progress within three years.
“When anchor employers like Boeing succeed, they create opportunities for suppliers like ATS, our employees and their families. In turn, we create more business for the small and midsized companies that supply us,” said Rob Cords, CEO of Aviation Technical Services. “Sustaining the Puget Sound region’s strong aerospace ecosystem and reinvigorating a competitive business climate requires continued investment in skilled workers along with actions to help control both the cost of living and the cost of doing business in the Puget Sound area. Working together on these critical elements is an investment in our entire region’s future.”
“The tech sector is the largest employer in the Puget Sound and helped establish this region as a global center of innovation,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President, Microsoft. “But our continued success is not guaranteed. We must work harder than ever to compete for talent and investment and create the economic climate that supports businesses of all sizes. This partnership is critical to ensuring we keep this region strong for generations to come.”
“Our deepwater ports are extraordinary regional assets that connect Puget Sound businesses and workers to opportunities around the world,” said John Wolfe, CEO, The Northwest Seaport Alliance. “Even at a time of trade uncertainty and growing competition from other ports, our maritime and trade economy remains an anchor for our region and a foundation for future prosperity. By making it easier to do business, investing in our ports and the people who keep trade moving, and opening doors to new markets, we can build a stronger economy and create more good jobs throughout Puget Sound.”
All the resources including a new video are available at challengeseattle.com/partnership.
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About Challenge Seattle:
First launched in 2015, Challenge Seattle is an alliance of 23 organizations that represent the Seattle region’s largest employers and most successful innovators. Led by former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, the organization tackles some of the most pressing civic challenges. By harnessing the committed leadership, unique resources, and world-class talent of member companies, Challenge Seattle works to ensure the region thrives as one of the most vibrant, inclusive, and innovative places in the world.