This report was filed by Rolf Boone in The Olympian:
“Thurston County taxable retail sales rose more than 5 percent in the first quarter of the year, the best first-quarter performance by the county in six years and another sign that the local economy continues to improve.

Countywide retail sales rose 5.35 percent, the best first quarter since 2007 when first-quarter retail sales rose 6.9 percent, according to state Department of Revenue data.”

Here are the county and city retail trade results for the year-over-year, first-quarter period:
[which is considered a more accurate reflection of the sales data]

Thurston County: Rose 10.09 percent to $492.1 million from $447 million.

Olympia: Rose 14.6 percent to $231.5 million from $202 million.

Lacey: Rose 8.17 percent to $132.6 million from $122.6 million.

Tumwater: Rose 2.43 percent to $55.3 million from $53.9 million.

Yelm: Rose 6.73 percent to $23.7 million from $22.2 million.

Meanwhile, statewide taxable retail sales rose 8.2 percent to $12 billion in the first quarter.”
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Editor’s note:
While Yelm recorded a respectable increase, the city’s sales continued to lag behind the county’s and state’s figures.