By US Chamber of Commerce If the election shows anything, it’s that the American democratic process is alive and well. There was historically high turnout with many voting ahead of time. By one estimate, more than 160 million people voted in this presidential election, some 67% of the voting-eligible population—the […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis This started with a seemingly basic question: “Why is public sector employment down so much this year?” The normal pattern we see is that the public sector is more of a stabilizing force in the economy. Job losses and budget cuts come […]

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon Early results from the November 2020 election show many taxes on the horizon for Oregon businesses. Although the largest business tax on the ballot, METRO’s wage tax Measure 26-218, was soundly defeated, there still are many other taxes that Oregon business will face. Income tax […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Last Friday, we shared details about summer hiring demand in Oregon. With two quarters of Job Vacancy Survey data in the COVID-19 recession, this seemed a good time to take a look at Oregon’s Beveridge Curve. The Beveridge Curve shows the relationship between the job openings […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, One of the biggest businesses taxes is before METRO-area voters this week. It is Ballot Measure 26-218, and it is a wage tax that will hit larger employers, which represent nearly 70% of all workers in the Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas County. In addition to […]

By National Federation of Independent Business, The NFIB Research Center released its latest survey on the impact COVID-19 has had on small businesses, the 13th survey since early March. If eligible, about 75% of small businesses reported they would apply or consider applying for a second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) […]

By Amy Angel & Daniel Walker Barran Liebman Oregon law firm CDC Revises Definition of “Close Contact” for COVID-19 Exposure Since the early days of the pandemic, employers have relied on the CDC’s definition of “close contact” to inform workplace COVID-19 exposure protocol. That definition has now changed. The CDC’s […]

By Employment Department of Oregon Each quarter, the Oregon Employment Department surveys private employers from all industries and areas of the state to ask about the job vacancies they are actively trying to fill. Oregon businesses reported 46,300 vacancies in summer 2020. Total job openings increased from the level in […]

Billy J. Williams Oregon District US Attorney, Press Release A former U.S. Postal Service employee was sentenced to federal prison for stealing mobile phones out of packages at the Portland postal sorting facility, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams. Rico Alvarez, 24, was sentenced to one year and one day […]

By John Jackson Originally featured in the Oregon Transformation Newsletter. I am not sure if Mayor Wheeler is sleeping while his apartment is burning. I ask myself as I look around the disaster of a city that used to be Portland: Is the mayor leading under the influence of political […]