Archive for August 2020
Who Can’t Work From Home During a Global Pandemic?
by Brandon SchraderWorkforce AnalystOREGON EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT COVID-19 rapidly spread across the United States and forced a patchwork of shutdowns that reduced business activity in order to save lives. Oregon is no exception as the “Stay Home, Save Lives” executive order was put into effect on March 23rd which enforced social distancing rules. While essential workers continued to…
Read MoreWhat COVID-19 means for energy efficiency in Oregon
The impacts of COVID-19 on Oregon’s energy-efficiency industry could be felt long after the pandemic is under control. That’s according to Energy Trust Executive Director Michael Colgrove, who was the featured speaker in a webinar this week hosted by the Association of Energy Services Professionals. Colgrove described how the state’s stay-at-home order, phased reopening and continuing…
Read MoreStatewide Mask, Face Shield, Face Covering Guidance as of July 24, 2020
by OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOROregon Health Authority Applicability: This guidance applies statewide to: All businesses, as defined below, and to the general public when visiting these businesses. The general public when visiting indoor spaces open to the public. The general public when outdoors, when at least six (6) feet of distance cannot be maintained between others…
Read MoreMinimum Wage Rises on July 1, Reaching $11.50 per Hour at the South Coast
by Guy TauerRegional EconomistCoos, Curry, Jackson, and Josephine counties We do have estimates of minimum wage jobs by industry and county for Oregon. A few notes of caution. These are estimates, not exact counts. The methodology might overstate the number of jobs in the lower-wage ranges in metro-area counties, or understate the number of lower-wage jobs…
Read MoreMinimum Wage Rises on July 1, Reaching $12.00 per Hour in the Rogue Valley
by Guy TauerRegional EconomistCoos, Curry, Jackson, and Josephine counties In the third quarter of 2019, the Oregon Employment Department estimates there were about 9,144 payroll jobs that paid minimum wage in the Rogue Valley, at the time $11.25 per hour. As of July 1, 2020, that minimum hourly rate in the Rogue Valley rises to $12.00…
Read More2020 Oregon Wage Data
by Jason Payton, Occupational EconomistOregon Employment Department How do we know the worth of our work? How do we know we are paying employees a competitive wage? The only way to know is to get a snapshot of what other workers are getting paid for doing similar work. If you don’t know where to start, the…
Read MoreLane County Lost More Jobs than the State in Recent Recessions
by Henry Fields, Workforce Analyst, for Employment in Oregon During the Great Recession, employment dropped more and took longer to recover in Lane County than in the state as a whole. Part of that had to do with the importance to our local economy of certain sectors that were particularly vulnerable, such as manufacturing and construction-dependent industries. In recent…
Read MoreWorking from Home and Broadband Access in Oregon
By Josh Lehner, Oregon Office of Economic AnalysisThere is considerable speculation about how the pandemic will change the way we live. In particular our office is fielding a lot of questions about working from home and whether households may increasingly choose to live in the suburbs or rural areas as a result. Solid data on…
Read MoreCharacteristics of the Covered Unemployed in May 2020 in Jackson and Josephine Counties
by Polly Farrimond, Workforce Analyst, for Employment in Oregon In May 2020, Jackson County’s unemployment rate was 14.4 percent, up 9.8 percentage points from last year. Josephine County’s unemployment rate was 13.9 percent, up 8.7 percentage points over last year. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted residents at record levels reflecting the recession that has impacted the entire United States.…
Read MoreCharacteristics of the Covered Unemployed in May 2020
by Anna Johnson, Senior Economic Analyst, for Employment in Oregon Since public health measures began to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 virus, Oregon has seen an unprecedented and devastating impact on the economy. Along with the monthly employment and unemployment numbers, there is data available every month on the demographic composition of Unemployment Insurance claimants. The demographic data…
Read MoreFederal Reserve Themes In The Second Half of 2020
The pandemic will continue to weigh on the economy but ongoing fiscal support matched by Fed easing will help ease the pain and support markets. By Tim Duy, Senior Director, Oregon Economic Forum, Professor of PracticeDepartment of Economics, University of Oregonduy@uoregon.edu Bloomberg Opinion My Bloomberg column last week: For the Federal Reserve, this time really…
Read MoreWhen workers can live anywhere
By Joe Cortright Another anecdote-fueled tale predicting of urban decline Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Feintzeig and Ben Eisen add another story, this one headlined “When workers can live anywhere” to the growing pile of claims that fear of Covid-19 and the possibility for remote work are likely to lead to the demise of cities.…
Read More