By Nick Beleiciks Oregon Employment Department Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in October, essentially unchanged from 9.6 percent in September. The unemployment rate has been below 10 percent for the past seven months, since March, when the rate was 9.9 percent. The recent low point for Oregon’s […]

The Census Bureau reports that Oregon has the highest percentage of families receiving food stamps at 17.8%

by Andre Harboe Oregon Employment Department Oregon’s minimum wage rate will increase to $8.80 per hour on January 1, 2012. The state’s minimum wage is linked to inflation and will rise 30 cents per hour, or 3.5 percent. Oregon’s minimum wage has been set at $8.50 per hour since January […]

by Tom Collamore U.S. Chamber of Commerce There was a really important hearing on Capitol Hill regarding the issue of rogue websites. As the testimony before the House Judiciary Committee shows, rogue websites have absolutely no place in the legitimate market: they do not follow laws, they do not pay […]

Shop Small Biz on Saturday campaign tries to tweak Black Friday weekend News Note:  This commercial is on network TV and on You Tube has almost a million views.  The idea is to help small businesses during the down economy by shopping for at least one item on the Saturday […]

Oregon’s latest revenue forecast was just released and the news is not good. By State Representative Dennis Richardson The anticipated state revenue from the General and Lottery Funds has been readjusted downward by another $107 million. This $107 million reduction, follows the $198 million revenue decrease discussed in the August […]

Statement Of House Democratic Leader Tina Kotek On Revenue Forecast: By State Representative Tina Kotek “This revenue forecast shows us the middle class is still being rocked by the global economy, even while our Oregon indicators are slowly and consistently getting better. While more and more Oregonians are getting back […]

FTC Enters into Consent Decree with Skid-e-Kids for COPPA Violations By David M. Silverman Davis Wright Tremaine NW Law Firm The operator of the Skid-e-Kids website, a self-described “Facebook and MySpace for kids,” has learned that it is not enough merely to have a privacy policy that requires parental consent […]

New Layer of Permitting Regulations May be In Offing By John Ledger Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate After almost two years, DEQ’s Portland Air Toxics Solutions Committee wrapped up its final meeting and the DEQ issued a semi-draft report for comment. The word “Portland” should really have been […]

Low-cost Trend Troubles: Daily Deals, Netbooks, Cheap China good By Oregon Small Business Association As the economy continues to sputter, U.S consumers have increasingly cut spending and embraced bargain shopping as a way of life. New data, however, suggests that recent fixtures of American frugality may be on the way […]