By Oregon NFIB, It’s no secret that regulations make it difficult for small businesses to stay afloat in Oregon. This year was far from an exception. More bad news than good seemed to flow out of Salem, from February’s extension of the clean-fuel standard to June’s approval of a mandatory […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Full employment is finally within sight. It is not here yet, and the current economic expansion is far from perfect, but a long stretch of modest gains in recent years have cumulatively delivered significant progress across the economic spectrum. The number […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate by Betsy Earls  The July adjournment of 2015 Session seems like a long time ago, but many of the laws the Legislature passed are just now taking effect. Unless an emergency clause caused a bill to go into effect immediately upon passage, all […]

By NFIB 1. The Obamacare penalty no one is talking about 2. What the Supreme Court headscarf ruling means for small biz 3. The Obamacare provision repeal that’s uniting both parties 4. What Ben Carson’s flat-rate tax plan would really look like 5. House votes to repeal estate tax: how […]

By Steve Buckstein, Cascade Policy Institute Union-backed and activist groups are trying to put measures on the November 2016 ballot to raise Oregon’s minimum wage from the current $9.25 to either $13.50 or $15, and to allow local governments such as the city of Portland to go above whatever the […]

Are You Better Off than Before the Recession? written by Damon Runberg, Central Oregon Regional Economist Oregon Employment Department Were you working before the 2007-2009? If so, are you still working today? If you said “yes” to both then I have another question for you. Are you better off today […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Oregon shed 5,300 jobs in September and its 12-month job growth of nearly 50,000 jobs is substantially lower than the previous 12 months. In fact, 2015 has witnessed significant developments among some of Oregon largest employers, with major companies being bought out, moving operations to […]

Congressman Kurt Schrader Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-05) stated his disapproval of the House’s passage of the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. The bill will fund the government until the end of September 2016. It passed the House today by a vote of 316-113. “While this bill contained some positive policy […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Oregon’s high-technology sector is being disrupted. Industry growth in the past decade is entirely concentrated in software, while Oregon’s historical strength in hardware is no longer the driver of job growth. Hardware remains the state’s comparative advantage, pays a large number […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue issued the following comments regarding the compromise FY2016 omnibus spending bill and the policy priorities that were included: “Congress continues to defy expectations that nothing would get done this year. It already passed the first meaningful […]