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…
Brown signs $200M ‘Future Ready Oregon’ workforce training plan
Gov. Kate Brown signs her $200 million “Future Ready Oregon” workforce spending plan at the Intel campus in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 5, 2022. (Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle) HILLSBORO – Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday signed into law a $200 million workforce spending plan aimed…
Land use policy, cautious investments could help Oregon weather economic uncertainty
Conservative investments and decades of policies aimed at reducing dependency on cars could insulate Oregon from the worst effects of an economic crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but state leaders and their advisers say much is still uncertain. The state and national economy…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…