Dr. Eric Fruits, Originally published by Oregon Transformation Newsletter. The New York Times ran a 2,300-word piece describing the challenges owners of vacation homes have faced in converting their second homes into their primary residences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges included the inability to get a Starbucks vanilla latte or […]

By National Federation of Independent Businesses, Many top concerns, including the cost of health insurance, labor, and taxes, remain constant despite economic conditions, according to the 2020 NFIB Problems and Priorities Survey. The data, collected just prior to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis, reflects owners’ views four years into […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 56,600 jobs in June, following a gain of 26,100 jobs in May. Over the past two months, employers added back nearly one-third of the jobs that were cut in March and April. Over-the-month job gains in June were largest […]

Bullard Law By Benjamin P. O’Glasser & Dennis E. Westlind The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its decision in General Motors, giving employers more latitude to issue discipline for employees’ racist, sexist, threatening, or other offensive speech in the context of strikes and union organizing. In doing so, the […]

BY US Attorney, Oregon District A Florida man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to federal supervised release for falsely claiming to represent The Village People band and swindling $12,500 from The Mill Casino in North Bend, Oregon. Howard Harlib, 67, was sentenced to time served in federal prison and three […]

By University of Oregon Economic Indicators This is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for June 2020. The release date is August 4, 2020. Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank. Link to full report (with charts!) here. The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity rose in June to […]

By NFIB, NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club at the United States Supreme Court in support of the Sierra Club. The brief argues the implications of this case can have substantial economic and social effects on small businesses. “Government regulations […]

June 2020 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties By Oregon Employment Department, In June 2020, all 36 of Oregon’s counties experienced over-the-month decreases in their unemployment rates. In 16 of Oregon’s 36 counties, unemployment rates dropped by 3 percentage points or more. Clatsop County experienced the largest over-the-month decrease at […]

By Josh Lehner, Oregon office Economic Analysis I am presenting a mid-year forecast for the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland. A summary of my thoughts and a copy of my slides are below. Due to the severe recession and pandemic, our office’s initial expectations were for housing and construction […]

By University of Oregon Economic Indicators An inability to get updated data has delayed the latest release of the Regional Economics Indicators; the Oregon Statewide continues to be released regularly with an update coming this week. While I wait for the delayed data, I want to share some insights gained […]