Businesses remain boarded up in downtown Salem following unrest in January. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter) When a federal program designed to keep workers on the payroll amid the pandemic launched last spring, CJ Nelson, the owner of Salem’s The Coin Jam, recalled being apprehensive about applying for money that had strings[Read More…]
Tag: SALEM ECONOMY
COLUMN: National business survey spells good news and bad for Salem’s economy
Signs on the window at Taproot Lounge and Cafe advertise takeout options while the restaurant is closed to indoor seating due to state restrictions, on Thursday, Dec. 10. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Salem area unemployment rate ticked up to 6.3% in December with another 1,100 people becoming unemployed. Almost all[Read More…]
COLUMN: What the local economy might bring in 2021
The employment picture in the Salem area during the pandemic has differed by sector. (Pam Ferrara) As the new year begins, let’s look back at the Salem economy since the pandemic began and then ahead to see how and when a return to normal might arrive. Before March of 2020,[Read More…]
AGENDA: Urban Renewal Agency board to get update on cleanup, wetland mitigation and other projects
The Saffron Supply Co. building, which the city of Salem officially acquired March 2019. The retailer has operated out of the building since 1935. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter) The board for Salem’s Urban Renewal Agency on Monday will review $372,725 worth of purchases made by the agency for environmental cleanup, improvements[Read More…]
Pandemic rules and smoke have meant a rough year for Oregon wineries
Pat Dudley, co-owner at Bethel Heights Vineyard, stands in the barrel cellar on Monday, November 23. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) With a shelf full of empty wine glasses behind her, Pat Dudley sat at a table in the deserted tasting room at Bethel Heights Vineyard on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Normally,[Read More…]
GUEST COLUMN: As unemployment drops, women are also dropping out of the labor force
A graph showing the rises and falls of female labor participation in the U.S. and Oregon (Pamela Ferrara) The unemployment rate for the Salem area declined by a percentage point in October from 7.8% to 6.8%. Most of the area’s unemployed are low-wage workers previously employed in industries hardest hit[Read More…]
Oregon’s economy can recover from pandemic, but low-wage earners falling behind
A crane works on top of the Nishioka building construction site in downtown Salem on May 12, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The months ahead for Oregon’s employers and workers will be the “most challenging yet” as consumers remain cautious and the U.S. awaits distribution of coronavirus vaccines, according to a[Read More…]
Salem area unemployment drops. But not as much as previous months
A graph from the Oregon Employment Department shows the steep rise in unemployment following pandemic restrictions and how it has gradually tapered off. (Courtesy/Oregon Employment Department) Following the rest of the state and country, the unemployment rate for the Salem area continued to decrease last month. The unemployment rate for[Read More…]
Salem’s unemployment rate has followed state and nation trends. But the numbers tell a deeper story
Employment in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area has stayed close to trends in Oregon and the U.S. (Pam Ferrara) Salem’s unemployment rate declined in September to 7.8%, closely tracking Oregon and U.S. unemployment rates (see graph). These rates track closely because the mix of industries locally is similar to that[Read More…]
Salem area adding back jobs at a slower pace
A closed sign at American Eagle at Salem Center. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) The Salem area’s unemployment barely budged last month, according to numbers from the Oregon Employment Department released Tuesday. In September, the unemployment rate for the Salem area was 7.8%, slightly down from August’s rate of 7.9%. The[Read More…]
