Tag: OREGON ECONOMY

Dozens of companies that defied Covid mandates are fighting nearly $1 million in fines

Courthouse Club Fitness owes the largest Covid-related fines to Oregon according to new data from the state’s workplace safety agency. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) Though most pandemic restrictions in Oregon are gone, several dozen businesses cited by state safety officials for violating Covid mandates still owe hundreds of thousands of dollars[Read More…]

COLUMN: Lower wages, higher barriers to entry among reasons fewer Oregon teens work

Oregon teens’ labor force participation has declined in recent years (Graph by Pamela Ferrara/Special to Salem Reporter) Are youth endangered in the labor force? Labor force participation rates (the percentage of the civilian non-institutionalized population working and looking for work) for young people between the ages of 16 and 24[Read More…]

Record employment posted in Oregon sectors, but recovery remains uneven

The Oregon Employment Department on Tuesday reported a record number of jobs in construction, wholesale trade and professional and business service sectors, but continued declines in employment at private hospitals, residential care facilities and in education. The monthly report is a snapshot, based on surveys sent to 7,000 businesses across the state[Read More…]

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…]