By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Over the past decade the number of lower-income households in the Portland region has fallen by nearly 60,000, or by 15%. Here, we’re defining lower-income to not just be those in poverty, but generally speaking in the bottom 40% or so of […]

US Senator Ron Wyden, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., praised the FCC’s reported decision to open an investigation into reports that a simple flaw on the website of location aggregator LocationSmart allowed nearly any hacker to track the phones of millions of Americans in real time. LocationSmart reportedly obtains location data […]

By Jim Mark, Melvin Mark Co. Portland Business Alliance Traffic, homelessness and affordability are the top of mind challenges as the region’s prosperity inches upwards. Portland may have just turned 167 years old, but the Rose City is still growing up. While population has steadily increased since 2004 and employment […]

By David J. Riewald & Trevor R. Caldwell Bullard Law The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that class action waivers in arbitration agreements do not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The Court’s 5-to-4 decision in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s economy has shown strong employment growth in recent years. That strong growth has caused the state’s labor market to tighten up, as record low unemployment rates have Oregon employers increasingly finding it difficult to fill job openings. Oregon’s average hourly wage, after more than five […]

Revenue Forecast Predicts Kickers, Growing Reserves by Mark Hester Oregon Business and Industry State economists presented a strong revenue forecast Wednesday, May 23, to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Revenue committees. Highlights of the report included: The Office of Economic Analysis now predicts that the state will […]

By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation, Motorists in Oregon are paying the fifth-highest price for a gallon of gas in the nation this spring. The average price for a gallon of regular gas cost $3.34 May 25 in Oregon, which is 37 cents more per gallon than the national average […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following statement today in response to the Commerce Department announcement that it will launch an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 into whether imports of vehicles and auto parts […]

Supreme Court Rules Employment Agreements Barring Class Actions Enforceable By: Heather Fossity On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled employment arbitration agreements that prohibit employees from bringing class actions against their employers are enforceable. The 5-4 decision will have a significant impact on employers nationwide.

By Oregon Small Business Association, Shouldn’t small business get the same tax advantages as big Wall Street Firms? The Oregon Small Business Association, through the Local, Family & Small Business Fairness Act PAC, submitted sponsorship signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division on May 18th for Initiative Petition […]