By Patrick Emerson Oregon Economics Blog One of the recurring themes of the ‘problems with Detroit’ narrative is that labor became too powerful, won too many costly concessions (e.g. the jobs bank) and these concessions are now crippling and are responsible for a big part of the troubles of America’s […]

By Stacey Mark Northwest Business Litigation Ater Wynne Attorneys at Law Worker misclassification has been a hot topic in Oregon for years.  In 2006, the legislature changed the statutory definition of independent contractor to clarify the criteria that must be met to qualify in Oregon.  Athough the current law imposes […]

Census Bureau numbers show retail sales dropping 0.4% from march to April.

Obama economists’ jobless predictions off by 2.9 million By Dr. Eric Fruits, EconInternational Recovery Report Card – Revised Jobless Predictions: In January, Administration economists Romer & Bernstein predicted that stimulus spending would mean that unemployment at the end of this year would be 7.6 percent. Now, Christina Romer, chairwoman of […]

Article by J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s Largest Business Lobby SB 519 gets sent back to committee, indicating lack of support. AOI initiated its most intense grassroots efforts of the 2009 Session this week on SB 519, also known as the “Employer Gag Bill.”  SB 519 makes it illegal […]

By Bill Conerly, Businomics, Conerly Consulting LLC I tried to get excited about the latest news, focusing on non-residential construction.  (No hope any time soon for residential activity.)  Here’s the private non-res data: