Category ECONOMY
With a talent for making dirty cars look new, a Salem teenager makes his vision a reality
Edgar Perez uses a steam cleaner to clean the interior of a pickup truck he is detailing on June 17, 2021 (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Edgar Perez decided that by the age of 17 he wouldn’t be working for anyone else. At age 16, Perez was…
After a difficult year, Capitol Cryo welcomes Salem back into the cold
The owners and staff of Capitol Cryo stand next to Salem’s only cryo tank, which exposes users to temperatures well below zero for its purported health benefits. From left, co-owners Lynn Rouse and Tanah Lines, Assistant Manager Elisabeth Jones and Manager Hannah Schmidt. (Jake Thomas/Salem…
Lights out looming for tens of thousands of Marion County residents
On a rainy, and windy day, Feb. 15, a lineman for Salem Electric works to repair power lines damaged by a weekend ice storm. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter) Nearly 24,000 residents of Marion County are at risk of having their electricity or gas shut off when…
COLUMN: Some reasons for the labor shortage have been decades in the making
Men’s participation in the U.S. labor force has been on the decline for decades, while women have increasingly found work. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) Salem’s economy is improving, there are lots of job openings and employers say they are having difficulty filling them.…
Two Salem businesses have yet to pay hefty fines for pandemic citations, pushing appeals
Courthouse Club Fitness in west Salem. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Over the last year, two Salem businesses were assessed hefty fines by Oregon’s workplace safety agency for openly flouting regulations intended to protect workers from Covid. But neither business has paid any money, and it could…
Marion County among the highest in the state for back rent, new analysis shows
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) Marion County has the fifth-highest amount of past-due rent of any…
SALEM ECONOMIC INDEX: Salem sees housing market reach new highs and signs that hiring is picking up
A home is seen under construction on Vine Maple Drive Southeast above a row of completed homes on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The housing market in Salem and Keizer remains hot. Fewer people in the Salem area are receiving unemployment benefits, more…
Oregon’s economy expected to come roaring back from pandemic-induced recession
A ‘Now Hiring’ sign in front of the Boon’s Treasury McMenamin’s location on Monday, April 26. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) With “no real signs of permanent damage or economic scarring” from the pandemic, Oregonians’ incomes are expected to grow and the labor market is expected to…
Employment Department will bring back job-seeking requirements for laid-off Oregonians
Oregon Employment Department. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) In another sign the pandemic is waning, the Oregon Employment Department announced a shift in requirements for people receiving unemployment benefits: they’ll have to start actively looking for work. David Gerstenfeld, the department’s acting director, made the announcement on…