Economy
Study confirms SOU’s vital role in the regional economy
NEWS RELEASE For immediate release: Tuesday, March 4, 2020 (Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is a powerful economic engine for its region, responsible for a total of $282.5 million in annual output in Jackson County, according to a recent economic impact study by Portland-based consulting firm ECONorthwest. SOU also is…
Read MoreRural Entrepreneurship Bolstered with Assistance from Business Oregon for Ten Projects
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMarch 2, 2020 Today Business Oregon announced investments in ten rural community projects throughout Oregon under the Rural Opportunities Initiative. The Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI) is an initiative that works with communities to cultivate local environments that support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Through financial support, innovative partnerships, network…
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NOAH finds new liquified natural gas pipeline in Oregon will not jeopardize species.
By michael.milstein@noaa.gov at www.noaa.gov/ NOAA Fisheries has issued a final biological opinion on construction and operation of the Jordan Cove terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the associated 229-mile long Pacific Connector Liquid Natural Gas pipeline. After conducting a thorough review, NOAA scientists determined that the proposed action does not…
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Employment Report Keeps Fed On Track
By Tim Duy DUY@UOREGON.EDU If you were looking for something exciting out of this labor report, you were disappointed. Mostly it is is a continuation of recent trends that will encourage the Fed to retain their basic optimism while providing them no reason to change course. Probably most important for…
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In Defense of Dumb Cities
By Michael McGinn It is a recurring trend, occasionally rising to craze, to imagine that cities will be transformed by technology into entirely different places. Seattle has been participating since its world fair in 1962 (monorails and jetpacks anyone?) and most recently with a tech advisory board to tap into…
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The Myth of Bend’s Timber-to-Tourism Transition
by Damon Runberg You may have heard this story before. Bend was a timber town, but after the demise of the timber industry, the regional economy shifted to tourism to replace those timber jobs. The vast ponderosa forests outside of town attracted mills that sustained the town for much of…
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Economic Outlook: It’s Complicated
Grant D. Forsyth, Ph.D., Chief Economist for Avista gave a riveting talk at the November, Medford Chamber of Commerce Forum to over 200 business people. The title of his talk was “Economic Outlook: It’s Complicated”. He presented several slides to prove his title to be true. Our Economy in Southern…
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$75-million 5th Street Public Market expansion project in Eugene on track to open fall 2020.
By Jim Teece We are getting quite a few requests about the photo on the cover of the November 2019 issue. We received the photo as part of a press release package from the Obie Companies talking about retail on 5th street marketplace and we thought it was very appropriate…
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New Poll: Most Businesses Do Not Think a Recession is Coming in Near Future
By Refresh Leadership on October 11, 2019 in Executive Insights, Surveys, Polls, and Infographics An overwhelming majority of business leaders surveyed in a new Express Employment Professionals poll don’t expect a recession within the next six months, despite increased media focus on the possibility of an upcoming downturn. In the…
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Medford Feature: History, Business and Change
From the Portland-Seattle and San Francisco – Sacramento metropolitan centers, draw a 500-mile radius North and South and they cross in the Rogue Valley. We have the good fortune of being a day’s drive from either major economy. Businesses in our area are connected to both economies. Being on the…
Read MoreOccupations that Pay More in Southwestern Oregon
by Sarah Cunningham When looking for a job in your field, determining which region pays the most could be a sound strategy. In 2018, there were 27 occupations where workers in Southwestern Oregon earned higher median wages than in any other region in the state. In 2017, 6 percent of…
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Where Have the Adventurers Gone? Recent Trends in Oregon Entrepreneurship
By: Henry Fields If you’ve ever struggled to spell “entrepreneur” you might know that it’s a term borrowed from French. It’s too bad that an early English-language equivalent, “adventurer,” didn’t catch on. The term perfectly captures the swashbuckling, eccentric personality needed to start a business (and it’s easier to spell).…
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