Economy
Oregon’s 2020 Natural Population Increase Was the Lowest on Record
By Sarah Cunningham Employment Economist sarah.e.cunningham@oregon.gov In 2020, Oregon’s population increased by 31,655 to 4,268,055. This marked growth of 0.7% over the year and growth of 11.4% since the 2010 Census. Portland State University’s Population Research Center recently released more detailed information on why this population growth has occurred. There…
Read MoreOregon’s Child Care Industry
By Jessica Nelson Employment Economist jessica.r.nelson@oregon.gov Many working parents in Oregon rely on the child care industry for safe, affordable, and educational care for their children. The importance of the industry has been highlighted in the pandemic recession, as child care centers and providers faced new restrictions and risks of…
Read MoreTechnology Reduces Employment in the Printing Industry
by Brian Rooney Regional Economist Douglas and Lane counties brian.t.rooney@oregon.gov Employment in printing and related support activities has been on the decline since the late 1990s. Advances in digital technology have contributed to declines in employment in two important ways. First, by changing the marketplace the industry operates in as…
Read MoreMarch 2021 Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast
By Mark McMullen and Josh LehnerOregon Office of Economic Analysis ECONOMIC OUTLOOK The cycle is different. The nature of the pandemic induced recession lead the economy into a severe shutdown essentially overnight last spring. Since then nearly every economic indicator has looked better than first feared. While the broad contours…
Read MoreUniversity of Oregon Central Oregon Business Index®
By Timothy A. Duy Director, Oregon Economic Forum Department of Economics, University of Oregon 541-346-4660 · duy@uoregon.edu Fourth Quarter 2020 Analysis The Central Oregon Business Index continued to rise in the fourth quarter despite the winter wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions on business activities. While a broad array…
Read MoreNot a GameStop Take
Timothy A. Duy Senior Director, Oregon Economic Forum Professor of Practice Department of Economics University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1285 541.346.4660 duy@uoregon.edu I don’t have a take on GameStop. Instead, I have a take on a GameStop take. This kind of commentary (via Axios) is floating around: The current state…
Read MoreAspen Dental Expands Access to Dental Care in Bend, OR
Aspen Dental has officially opened its doors in Bend, Oregon with the opening of a brand-new office, bringing a new local dentist to their community. This is the 15th Aspen Dental practice in the state of Oregon, as Aspen Dental continues to break down barriers and bring comprehensive, affordable care…
Read MoreHOW COVID IS CHANGING OUR BUYING HABITS
By Josh Lehner, Oregon Office of Economic Analysis OK, this was fun. Willamette Week is out with a set of articles highlighting some of the sectors of the economy that are doing quite well this year, despite the pandemic and recession. My hat’s off the Aaron Mesh and company for…
Read MoreAshland Chamber launches new eCommerce site for all Brick and Mortar stores in Ashland
Like the rest of us, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce has been hard at work pivoting to stay alive while continuing to reach out and help Ashland’s small business economy in every way it can, since the shutdowns started in March. Thanks to a Grant from Business Oregon, and a…
Read MoreAshland community launches new site to attract the next generation of workers and employers to town
When the pandemic sent us all working from home, many of the high tech workers in the big cities realized that they could work from anywhere and many started looking. A group of folks came together in Ashland to create a video series that told the story of living and…
Read MoreNew Telecommunications Firm Expanding in Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls, OR (November 5th, 2020) – Today, the Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA) publicly announced that the KRTelecom Group has started new operations in Klamath Falls and is expected to expand substantially in the next few months. Working with partners such as Verizon, Spectrum, and AT&T, KRTelecom offers…
Read MoreNew Manufacturing Plant to Open in Klamath Falls
An international company announced Wednesday that it will build a multi-million dollar manufacturing plant in Klamath Falls that will employ about 50 people. Wilsonart Engineered Services, based in Temple, Tex., manufactures and distributes materials used in furniture, office spaces, countertops and more. It will construct a 95,000-square-foot building located on…
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