SPOKANE, Wash. - Analysts and business groups came together at the Spokane Convention Center on Wednesday at the annual State of the Region event hosted by Greater Spokane Incorporated.

A hot topic at this year's conference was how the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in the nation's history, will impact the local economy.

"If people have lost their job, they cut spending. If people think they're gonna lose their job...all of that leads to less spending," Grant Forsyth, Avista's chief economist said.

Spokane and the Inland Northwest is home to its fair share of federal workers, especially from Fairchild Air Force Base.

Forsyth said the longer the shutdown endures, the longer it could take the economy to recover.

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