By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog Unlike the nation, unfortunately, Oregon’s Great Recession does have a modern peer: the early 1980s. Our office has documented the similarities numerous times over the years, from the unemployment rate to total jobs and from housing starts to manufacturing jobs and […]

By Thomas Tullis Cascade Policy Institute When Oregon politicians pretend to be experts on venture capital investing, it ends up costing the state millions of dollars in education money. This is exactly what is going on with the Oregon Growth Board, a project of the Oregon Business Development Department. Tasked […]

By National Federation of Independent Business, NFIB urges quick repeal of schizophrenic IRS rule imposing fines on small businesses for helping defray the cost of their workers’ insurance or medical expenses Washington, DC (June 29, 2015) – An obscure IRS rule takes effect under which small businesses that get caught […]

By Technology Association of Oregon. I have been reflecting on my 20+ year career on the things that I wish I better understood when I was first starting out: 1. Don’t wait for permission to get the experience you want In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to proactively develop […]

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has introduced legislation that would promote continued job creation in the growing craft beverage, cider, wine and distillery industries throughout Oregon and the country. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, S.1562, introduced Thursday would cut taxes and modernize […]

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon Softness in employment components dragged down the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity in May to a near-average level. Highlights of the report include: – The three-month moving average of the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity, […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog In recent years there had been somewhat of a disconnect from broader economic gains and growth in video lottery sales, and gaming more generally across the country. Granted, gaming is a very discretionary type of spending and while the economy was […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits Randy Johnson issued the following statement regarding the Obama administration’s overtime proposal: “Making more employees eligible for overtime by severely restricting the exemptions will not guarantee more income, but instead will negatively impact […]

Portland raises minimum wage to $15 an hour for full-time city workers By Oregon Small Business Association, The Portland City Council voted on May 13 to raise the minimum wage for full-time city workers to $15 an hour. The raise will affect 16 full-time city employees and more than 150 […]

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB Some small business owners have found flexible working arrangements work well for their company and benefit their employees. A proposal in Oregon, however, would reduce employers’ freedom to manage their own businesses. Senate Bill 888 would require employers to work with employees to try to […]