U.S. Chamber of Commerce Press Release, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said in his 2020 State of American Business speech that worker shortages and the growing skills gap is an “urgent priority for states all over the country.” Donohue also unveiled the Chamber’s new state-based Worker Availability Ratio […]

By Josh Lehner, Office of Economic Analysis, Welcome to a new decade. The 2020s should be the best decade so far in the new millennium, not that the tech bust/housing bubble/Great Recession and its aftermath puts up much of a challenge, but still. While the most remarkable economic trend of […]

By Cascade Policy Institute, Research published by Cascade Policy Institute concludes workers, employers, and unions could benefit from increased competition among labor unions. Competition among unions and workplace freedom would lead to improved choice and representation for workers, reduce costs for employers, and may lead to increased union membership. Introducing […]

Wall Street Editorial 1/6/20, Politicians bemoan the lack of affordable housing, but their policies often create the problem. Look no further than Oregon, where restrictive zoning and mandates have yielded the lowest rate of residential construction in decades. Oregon’s population grew by nearly 400,000 between 2010 and 2019. But the […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, Tire king Les Schwab Tire Centers may sell its 450 stores in a deal that could garner at least $3 billion, according to sources who didn’t want to be identified. The company, founded in 1952, has stores in 10 states with the real estate alone […]

By NFIB, Congress passed a large federal government funding bill that includes several items of interest to small businesses. The action on H.R. 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, came during its last week in session before going into recess for the remainder of 2019. President Donald J. Trump […]

Tim Duy, University of Oregon Economic Indicators The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity was nearly unchanged in November at 0.63 compared to an upwardly revised 0.58 in October. The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators rose 0.2% in November following an identical gain the previous month. Highlights of this […]

Cascade Employers Association, 2020 is right around the corner: see what executives predict for the 2020 year and plan smart! The Employer Associations of America’s 2020 National Business Trends Survey shares information on what executives are doing to address the changing business climate, and executives surveyed this year indicate that […]

By Jessica D. Osborne Bullard Law, NW Law Firm The Department of Labor ( DOL) recently finalized changes to its overtime exemption thresholds for salaried employees, including an increase in the annual salary cut-off from $23,660 to $35,568. The changes are expected to take effect on January 1, 2020. Background […]

Oregon US Senator Ron Wyden, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., questioned whether nonprofit groups, free speech and internet users would be harmed selling control of .ORG domains to a private equity firm, in a letter sent today. Currently, […]