By Oregon Employment Department, The racial and ethnic diversity of Oregon’s total nonfarm employment pales in comparison with the United States. The private sector of the U.S. in 2019 was comprised of a more racially diverse set of workers, with 24 percent non-white employment compared with Oregon’s 14 percent. Moreover, […]

    By Josh Lehner, Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, OK, this was fun. Willamette Week is out with a set of articles highlighting some of the sectors of the economy that are doing quite well this year, despite the pandemic and recession. My hat’s off the Aaron Mesh and […]

Oregon Brewers Guild Please join the Brewers Association, state Guilds, breweries, trade partners, and craft beer lovers across the country today in supporting a national Day of Action to urge Congress to pass the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) and make the current federal excise tax rates […]

By Oregon Employment Department, Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.0% in November from 6.8%, as revised, in October. This put Oregon’s rate below the U.S. unemployment rate which dropped to 6.7% in November from 6.9% in October. “On Nov. 18th, Oregon implemented a ‘freeze’ to combat the rise of COVID-19 […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley issued the following statement on the pandemic relief legislation negotiations. “The Chamber applauds Senators Portman and Manchin for producing a truly bipartisan compromise that would provide temporary and targeted liability protections for businesses, […]

Tim Duy University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators Oregon’s economy regained momentum in October revealing its underlying strength but still faces a challenging winter. Highlights of the report include: • The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity rose to 1.2 in October from an upwardly revised -0.06 in September. […]

By Oregon NFIB, Oregon Response to Poll of Small-Business Owners The Legislature needs to embrace and supplement congressional initiatives SALEM, Ore., Dec. 15, 2020—From Anthony Smith, Oregon state director for NFIB, which released the latest poll of its small-business-owning membership today. “Unfortunately, our worries have become reality as COVID-19 case […]

By Cascade Policy Institute, Do you want to enjoy a drink but don’t feel safe sitting in a bar? If you live in one of the many states that have allowed “cocktails to-go” since the beginning of the pandemic (including our neighbors in California, Washington, and Idaho), you’re in luck! […]

Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, ORLA is anticipating the announcement of a third special session of the Oregon Legislature very soon and the session will most likely take place this coming week before the holidays are upon us. Your state association is keenly aware your ability to stay in business […]

By U.S. Chamber of Commerce, More contractors are facing a shortage of building materials as the pandemic continues, according to new fourth quarter data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (Index). This quarter, 41% of contractors say less availability of building products and materials is a severe consequence of […]