State tax collections continued to climb higher than anticipated last month, according to a revenue update released yesterday by the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. Collections for the period of July 11 to August 10 came in $81.2 million or 3.6 percent above the previous forecast, released in June, according to the report. Combined with last month’s growth, collections are now $182.3 million or 4.0 percent above the June forecast.
Revenue Act collections in the retail and business & occupation taxes boosted the growth, with strong showings in motor vehicle sales, food services, and the construction sector. The growth is in large part due to healthy real estate excise tax collections that came in $7.1 million or 8.7 percent higher than anticipated. The report also shared that Washington’s unemployment rate has reached an all-time low (with data beginning in 1958) at 3.6 percent in July, continuing a declining trajectory since it was 4.6 percent in February.
A new revenue forecast is expected in September.