A map of the minimum wage increases across Oregon starting July 1. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department) Low-wage workers in Marion and Polk counties will get a 75-cent raise starting next week when the state’s minimum wage increases for the fourth time since 2016. Workers will now be paid at least $12[Read More…]
ECONOMY
Blue collar working families were struggling before COVID-19 hit. Without help, advocates fear a wave of evictions.
Farm to Families food boxes are distributed from the St. Vincent De Paul food bank on Friday, May 22 . (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) Working-class families in Oregon were struggling to afford necessities before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a trend advocates worry could fuel a homelessness crisis when a statewide moratorium[Read More…]
COLUMN: Unemployment figures for Salem can be tricky to translate
A graph from the Oregon Employment Department, released May 19, illustrates job losses during previous recessions and how they compare to the current economic downturn. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department) The Salem area unemployment rate took an unprecedented one-month jump from March to April of more than nine points, due to the[Read More…]
A dime here, a dime there – bottle recycling centers in Salem staying busy
Patience and social distancing are two requirements for cashing in bottles and cans at Salem’s BottleDrop centers. Customers cash in at the center on Northeast Commercial Street on Friday, May 1. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) During the virus outbreak, recycling bottles and cans has become an essential business. In Oregon, cans,[Read More…]
Coronavirus outbreak could affect Oregon’s economy, including exports
An image of the coronavirus from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The emergence of the coronavirus could put a damper on the unprecedented expansion of the Oregon economy. A full-blown recession could be on the horizon if the virus disrupts supply chains, keeps workers from their jobs[Read More…]
Housing affordability worsened in Oregon in last decade with low construction rates
Capital Manor’s original tower stands in the distance while construction crews build 17 new duplexes to the west. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) Despite Oregon’s widespread housing shortage, the amount of housing built in the state during the last decade reached a record low. That was one of the unexpected conclusions state[Read More…]
Salem economy strong heading into the holidays, despite recent shakeup
People shop in downtown Salem. (File/Caleb Wolfe/Special to Salem Reporter) Oregon’s economy is strong heading into the holiday season, and Salem is no exception. Unemployment is at historic lows, wages are growing, and people have money to spend, a reversal from the recession a decade ago. These trends are carrying[Read More…]
Oregon’s economy remains strong heading into the holiday season
Jim Whitbeck, right, discusses a display Friday with Carolyn Brandt and Eric Lincolnat his business Blue Mountain Outfitters in La Grande. The business is going on 5 1/2 years of growth. (Ronald Bond/La Grande Observer) It’s a good time to be a holiday shopper in Oregon. Despite fears of a[Read More…]
Salem’s economy takes a jolt as 1,000 jobs disappear with NORPAC collapse
A NORPAC-branded truck transports frozen vegetables in Oregon. (Courtesy/Oregon Department of Agriculture) The impending closure of a century-old food processing company will have wide impacts on Salem’s economy as nearly 1,000 workers seek new jobs over the holidays and Willamette Valley farmers scramble for a new buyer for next season’s[Read More…]
Business group hopes to court commercial airliners in spring
A plane idles at Salem Municipal Airport, in front of Salem Air Services. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter files) A local group working to revive commercial flights out of the Salem Municipal Airport says it hopes to start courting an airliner in April. Business owners and private citizens have hired a consultant[Read More…]
