Oregon's recovery has been slower than in Washington, but it's gathering strength headed into 2015
Last week, the University of Oregon released its most recent Oregon Regional Economic Indexes (through January).  “Regional economies rocketed into the New Year with solid growth in January,” the report begins. But the data confirm that much of the state has struggled to find its legs in the recovery — just as Oregon, with its durables manufacturing and (declining) forest products economy took a bad punch in the Great Recession.
Another place to check up on the state is the always insightful Oregon Office of Economic Analysis blog written by Josh Lehner.
Here are some of my key indicators for Oregon’s recovery:
1. Oregon’s unemployment rate has been coming down, but it has stayed above that of Washington until lately.
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2. The number of non-farm employees has finally surpassed its mid-2000s peak.
3. But the high-paying jobs in manufacturing are still down, even though there is improvement from the recession’s low point.
4. Construction jobs are also still down, too (but remember, the peak was part of an unsustainable bubble).
5. Demand has recovered for houses in metro Portland and prices are heading back up.
6. Even with the tougher recovery, Oregon’s population has continued to grow.
Today’s Econ Haiku:
Google’s CFO
Has been hired out of Wall Street
Bing ‘Don’t be evil’