By Oregon Small Business Association, There is an important bill, Senate Bill 596 sponsored by State Senator Tim Knopp, which is up for a hearing today in the Senate Finance and Revenue. Oregon’s small businesses – which provide a tremendous number of jobs for Oregon’s economy – are just now […]

A Lack of Applicants in a Growing Economy via Oregon Workforce and Economic Information Oregon businesses reported 50,800 jobs vacancies at any given time in 2016. They reported nearly two-thirds (64%) of those job vacancies as difficult to fill. Four primary challenges accounted for three-fourths of all difficult-to-fill job vacancies: […]

NFIB: Budget savings, hiring freezes, Spending control By Anthony K. Smith Also featured in Salem Business Journal The 2017 Oregon legislative session is now more than halfway there to reaching its constitutional adjournment deadline of July 10. The “first chamber deadline” for bills to move out of committee passed April […]

U.S. Chamber Survey Shows Support for Trade among Registered Voters According to a new U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey conducted by Morning Consult, a majority of voters say trade with other countries will strengthen the U.S. economy. The results of the survey underscore public support for international trade among registered […]

The Long, Winding Road to a Transportation Plan Building bipartisan support for a statewide transportation package has been a Legislative priority since at least 2015, when the last effort failed. With two months remaining in the 2017 Session, time is running short to develop a bill that can pass both […]

    Zombie Unemployment Rate Claims by Josh Lehner Oregon currently has a record low unemployment rate, with good data going back to 1976. It’s true that this likely overstates the strength in the economy, however we know the labor market is tight and Oregon is at or near full […]

Rep. Peter DeFazio Introduces “Putting Main Street FIRST” Act to Rein In Speculative Wall Street Trading Bill would use savings to boost national priorities including affordable higher education, infrastructure repair Rep. Peter DeFazio introduced legislation that would levy a 0.03 percent tax on transactions of stocks, bonds and derivatives to […]

House Passes the American Health Care Act: What Employers Need to Know Now By Allison J. Jacobsen and Iris K. Tilley, Barran Liebman Attorneys Earlier today, by a narrow 217 to 213 vote, the House of Representatives passed a sweeping amendment to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This amendment, known as […]

    NFIB: AHCA Paves Way for Health Care that Works for Small BusinessAmerica’s leading small business group says House action is a critical first step toward Obamacare repeal and replace Jack Mozloom, NFIB The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today issued the following statement on behalf of President […]

The High Cost of a Disengaged Workforce and What to Do About It Cascade Employers Association: by Courtney LeCompte Human Resources exists to maximize the productivity of an organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. Employee effectiveness is optimized when employees are engaged.