bizjournals: “Washington residents can claim one of the least miserable economies in the nation, based on one straightforward measure: the misery index, which combines inflation with unemployment. The misery index in the Washington/Baltimore area currently stands as the second-lowest in the nation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Washington’s year-over-year inflation rate, at 1.95 percent, plus its current unemployment rate, 7.4 percent, yields a misery rate of 9.35 percent. Among big cities, only Seattle currently has a lower misery index. Year-over-year inflation in Seattle is pegged at a negative 0.5 percent. The unemployment rate of 6 percent gives Seattle a misery index of just 5.5 percent.”