Report shows outdoor recreation's impact on Washington jobs

Outdoor recreation in Washington state supports 226,600 jobs, generates $7.1 billion in wages and produces $1.6 billion in state and local tax revenue each year, according to figures released by Outdoor Industry Association, a Colorado-based trade association for the outdoor industry.

The report cited Washington’s variety of outdoor-recreation destinations, including Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park, as key factors to the industry’s success.

The state-by-state figures expand upon a national report OIA published last June, which found that Americans spend $646 billion each year on outdoor recreation, directly supporting 6.1 million jobs and generating nearly $80 billion in tax revenue.

OIA directors suggested that the outdoor industry can continue to generate jobs and be an economic driver if parks, waters and trails are managed as a system designed to sustain these economic dividends for America, according to a press release.

The national report and a one-page fact sheet for each U.S. state are available on the OIA website at outdoorindustry.org/recreationeconomy.

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