Tag SALEM ECONOMY
COLUMN: The pandemic shut-down hit low-wage workers and minorities the hardest
A graph showing the percent change in the Salem area’s private sector employment from Februay 2020. (Source: Oregon Employment Department) The pandemic-related shutdown of the economy will go into the record books with a lot of “firsts” and we’ve just seen another one. The unemployment…
COLUMN: Unemployment rate dips slightly, but low-wage workers continue to be hardest hit
A graph showing the percentage of total U.S. employment in goods producing and service producing industries from 1950 to 2018. (Courtesy/ Oregon Employment Department) The good news for Salem’s economy is that the unemployment rate has come down from 13.2 percent in April to 12.7…
Minimum wage workers will soon see extra on their paychecks
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…