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Apple plans more workers and offices in South Lake Union

caption: In this Jan. 29, 2015, photo, Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood is shown dotted with construction cranes and new buildings as viewed from the top of the Space Needle.
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In this Jan. 29, 2015, photo, Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood is shown dotted with construction cranes and new buildings as viewed from the top of the Space Needle.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Apple Inc. says it is committing to having 2,000 employees in Seattle in the next five years.

The company also said it would move into new offices close to Amazon in South Lake Union.

But the impact of this announcement pales when compared to the jobs growth in other Seattle tech companies, such as Amazon, Google and Salesforce's Tableau.

It also pales in comparison to Washington's apple production — the most important crop in the state in terms of employment.

"We're talking about 25,000 jobs," said state regional economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman. In terms of the actual numbers, Apple has a long way to go to catch up.

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