Oregon News Note: NetApplications reports that Microsoft is losing key ground in the browser war as it watches it key browser, Explorer, drop 14% in market share.   At the same time Firefox share grew 5%, Google’s Chrome grew 6%, Apple’s Safari grew 2% and Opera by 1%.   These are not […]

By Dr. Eric Fuits, EconInternational In 2009, the administration’s economists promoted stimulus spending by putting out some bold projections of the impacts of the stimulus on U.S. Unemployment. For example, the attached chart shows that the administration’s economists expected that, by now, the stimulus would have reduced unemployment to 7.3 […]

By Tim Duy, Oregon Economic Forum sponsor, KeyBank. The Oregon recovery experienced headwinds in May.  The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators™ fell 1.4% to 87.9 (1997=100) from a revised April figure of 89.  Significant deterioration in Oregon employment services payrolls, Oregon residential building permits, and the interest rate […]

By Wayne D. Landsverk & Merril A. Keane, Miller Nash LLP, Oregon and Washington Law Firm School is out, and summer internships are beginning across the Northwest. Employers might not be thinking about whether their unpaid summer interns qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”). After […]

By Oregon Tax News, Oregon is one of a few states that dedicates funds, paid by Oregon employers, to cover unpaid wages when a company fails and does not have money for payroll. Last year, the average payout was about $1,048 per worker. The fund pays amounts equal to unpaid […]

Press Release from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Data Exposes Concerns Among Small Businesses and Voters with Lack of Progress on Jobs In advance of last Wednesday’s Jobs for America: Summit 2010, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today released two surveys showing that small business owners and voters are deeply concerned […]

Portland Business Alliance Press Release Government continues trend as top employer Downtown Portland experienced an increase of 54 businesses and 393 jobs in 2009, but there is still a long road ahead to make up for 2008 when roughly 277 businesses and 3,000 jobs were lost. The greatest employment gains […]

Governor Ted Kulongoski Press Release Governor Ted Kulongoski recently announced $3 million in federal funds for three biomass energy projects in Oregon. These projects represent the seventh round of awards through the U.S. Department of Energy – State Energy Program. The program supports energy efficiency and renewable energy projects and […]

Article by: J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon Industries New regulations limiting the ability of employers to use credit histories for prospective employees and job applicants began on July 1 with Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian marking the occasion by holding sessions of a special seminar on the topic in Portland.

The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism lost 3.2 points in June falling to 89.0 after posting modest gains for several months*. The Index has been below 93 every month since January 2008 (30 months), and below 90 for 23 of those months, all readings typical […]