Oregon Workforce & Economic Information

In the News: Oregon's Small Businesses and Job Bias Claims

2012-01-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

Small Business Profiles for States
Each year, the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy releases annual small business profiles for each state. These reports provide information on the demographics of business ownership, employment, and small business* income for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Here are a few highlights from the latest Oregon report:

Most of Oregon's small businesses are very small, as 73.8 percent of all businesses did not have employees, and most employers have fewer than 20 employees.

While the employment situation was weak in 2008 and 2009, small businesses in Oregon represented 89.6 percent of the net new private-sector jobs from 2005 to 2008.

Self-employment surged over the last decade. Male self-employment fared the best, with an increase of 14.3 percent from 2000 to 2010.

More details for Oregon -- and all states -- are available on the SBA website. *This SBA report defines small businesses as those with fewer than 500 employees. There is no official or uniform definition of small business.

Job Bias Claims
In a recent news release, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that job bias claims reached an all-time high in fiscal year 2010. Private-sector workplace discrimination charges totaled 99,922 claims. The EEOC noted that last year, for the first time ever, retaliation under all statutes (36,258 charges) surpassed race (35,890) as the most frequently filed charge, while allegations based on religion (3,790), disability (25,165) and age (23,264) increased.

The Associated Press summarized the changes in the composition of all suits filed. Charges of religious discrimination jumped by 9.5 percent from the previous year, the largest increase of any category. Claims of bias based on ancestry or country of origin rose 5 percent. At the same time, claims of disability bias climbed 2 percent and charges of discrimination based on age rose 1 percent.

You can read more in the full story from any number of publications, including USA Today, the Washington Times, or NPR.

Employment Impacts Around the State

2012-01-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

What's happening in the Oregon business world? A big transmission line project, businesses recalling workers back to the job, and expansions, and more...

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the approval of the North Steens Transmission Line Project in Harney County. The project is a 44-mile power line that will carry power from a proposed wind power project on the north side of Steens Mountain to Harney Electric Cooperative's existing electrical transmission grid. The project would support 235 jobs. Burns Times-Herald, 1/4/2012

Boise Cascade recalled laid off employees at its Western Oregon Region mills in Medford, White City, and Willamina and will add 40 full-time, entry-level employees to its staff. Mail Tribune, 1/17/2012

Eco Building Products Inc. opened a plant in Salem that could employ as many as 50 people by the end of summer. Portland Business Journal, 1/19/2012

Lane County's second Five Guys Burger and Fries opened in Eugene. It employs 47 people. The Register-Guard, 1/12/2012

Unfortunately, some companies are planning layoffs:

Iberdrola Renewables Inc. will lay off 25 people at its Portland office. The Oregonian, 1/25/2012

Vestas Wind Systems will lay off 182 workers in the United States and Canada, including an undetermined number in Portland. The Oregonian, 1/18/2012

Vancouver-based First Independent Bank will lay off less than 8 percent of its approximately 245 employees, a consequence of the bank's impending sale to Sterling Savings Bank. The Columbian, 1/20/2012

Looking for more info from recent business announcements? Read this week's full edition of Around the State, or check out our online search tool.

Oregon (Un)Employment by County in December

2012-01-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

In December 2011, Benton County had the lowest seasonally adjusted jobless rate (6.0%), while Crook County posted the highest rate (15.3%). Overall, 14 of Oregon’s counties had jobless rates at or below the statewide rate of 8.9 percent. The unemployment rate declined by at least 1 percentage point for 29 counties between December 2010 and December 2011. Deschutes County saw the largest improvement in its unemployment rate (-2.6 percentage points) from the previous year. Rates increased over the year in Sherman (+0.3 percentage point) and Baker (+0.1 percentage point) counties.

Total nonfarm payroll employment declined between December 2010 and December 2011 in five of Oregon’s six broad regions. The five Portland metro counties in Oregon combined for a 1.8 percent growth rate over the year. All other regions experienced losses, ranging from -0.7 percent in the Willamette Valley to -0.4 percent each for Southern Oregon and the coast counties, and -0.3 percent each in the combined Central Oregon counties and Eastern Oregon.

Get more detailed information on County data or click on the interactive map on the QualityInfo.org homepage.

Oregon's (Un)Employment Rankings in December

2012-01-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a summary of state and regional employment and unemployment.** The latest release issued today reports that 37 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases in December; Oregon was among this group. Three states posted rate increases, and 10 states had no rate change.

In December, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states -- including Oregon -- and the District of Columbia. Payrolls declined in 24 states, and was unchanged in one state. The largest over-the-month increase in employment occurred in Texas (+20,200), followed by Indiana (+15,100), and California (+10,700). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in New York (-14,000), followed by Missouri(-11,800), and our neighbor to the north (Washington, -11,600).

The Employment Department's Research Division tracks Oregon's rankings in unemployment and employment growth compared to the U.S. and all states. In December, Oregon had the 15th highest unemployment rate among all states and the District of Columbia. Between December 2010 and December 2011, Oregon's nonfarm employment grew by 1.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted), which was 22nd highest among all states. National employment growth was 1.3 percent over the year.

You can find more details in the full BLS news release.
**Unless otherwise noted, all numbers in this post are seasonally adjusted.

Economic Impact of Wind Farms and Forest Payments in Local News

2012-01-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

Two recent articles reveal the impact of wind farms and logging on income and employment in rural areas.

An article in the Statesman Journal talks about how the extra money from wind farms in Sherman County has helped local businesses, rural towns, and schools. "Every household in Sherman County receives around $590 each year," the story notes, "regardless of whether they have turbines on their property. " Get more information in the full article.

The second article comes from The Oregonian, and discusses the impact on counties that face the end of federal forest payments. As logging on Federal lands has declined over the years, Congress approved timber payments to help mitigate lost revenues. According to a 2009 Governor's Task Force report, rural counties may lose an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 jobs when these payments end, while a study by Oregon State University estimates that local business sales could drop by up to $400 million. Get more details in the full story.

Unemployment rates by major for college grads

2012-01-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

According to a recent CNNMoney article, if you want the best odds of getting a job after graduation, don't major in architecture. A recently-released report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce finds that among recent college grads, architecture majors have the highest unemployment rate at 13.9 percent. Even after gaining years of experience, architecture grads ages 30 and over have an unemployment rate of 9.2 percent. Arts majors also face high unemployment rates, at 11.1 percent for recent college graduates and 7.1 percent for those with work experience.

Which degrees might show better employment outcomes? According to the Georgetown report, the education, health care, business, and professional services industries have been the most stable employers for recent college graduates. Unemployment rates are relatively low (5.4%) for recent college students who majored in health care and education fields because these majors are attached to stable or growing industry sectors.

Get more information in the CNNMoney article, or from the Georgetown report.

Antiques and Breweries Around the State

2012-01-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

This week's Around the State included many announcements on antique or used merchandise stores, all with very unique names:

Cruise-In Consignment, specializing in recreational gear, opened in northeast Vancouver. The Columbian, 1/9/2012

Second Thoughts Resale opened in Springfield. It offers new and used household items and clothes. The Register-Guard, 1/13/2012

Timeless Treasures, an antique store, opened in Albany. Albany Democrat-Herald, 1/9/2012

The Ugly Lamp Store, an antique and fine collectibles store, opened in Grants Pass. Grants Pass Daily Courier, 1/16/2012

In addition, we'll see a couple new breweries opening in the coming months:

Pfriem Brewing Company will open a brewery and tasting room in Hood River in June. Hood River News, 1/12/2012

Stickmen Brewery and Skewery will open in Lake Oswego in April. Lake Oswego Review, 1/5/2012

Falling Sky Brewing Co. will open next month in Eugene. It will offer handcrafted beers, barrel to tap wines, and food. The Register-Guard, 1/8/2012

Read up on more recent business events in the full issue, and use our search tool to explore Around the State archives.

Starting today we also have updated Affirmation Action information available on QualityInfo.org! Statistics about occupations, labor force and population by sex and race/ethnicity can be found in the Publications section.

Oregon's Unemployment Rate Drops Below 9.0 Percent

2012-01-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Today the Oregon Employment Department reported on the December employment situation. Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in December. That marks the first time since November 2008 that the state's unemployment rate fell below 9.0 percent. Meanwhile, the U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 8.5 percent in December from 8.7 percent in November.

In December, 175,830 Oregonians were unemployed. This was 29,152 fewer unemployed individuals than in December 2010.
Oregon added 2,400 jobs beyond seasonal expectations in December. By industry, December job gains were led by leisure and hospitality (+2,700 jobs) and government (+1,700). Educational and health services (‐2,200 jobs) experienced the largest decline.

Get more information in the full news release, or visit the employment and unemployment data pages at QualityInfo!

One-third of Oregon employers plan to hire

2012-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

One out of three private-sector employers in Oregon expect to hire workers over the next six
months, and 11 percent expect to increase their total number of workers over that period, according to results from the third future hiring survey by the Oregon Employment Department. The six-month period runs approximately through May 2012.

Employers who plan to hire will most likely do so to replace workers leaving due to routine turnover over the next six months. This means that while one-third of employers plan to hire, in many cases their overall level of employment will not change. Poor economic conditions were the most common reason given from employers not hiring, and employer outlooks and expectations were unchanged from fall 2010.
Employers in Central Oregon and the Columbia Gorge were the most likely to indicate some
type of hiring would occur (38%) and firms in Southern Oregon were the least likely to share
that sentiment (30%). Overall, hiring expectations were similar throughout all regions of the
state: between 30 and 40 percent of employers plan to hire within six months. Larger
employers were more likely to expect near-term hiring, as 69 percent of employers with at least 50 employees reported plans to pick up new staff within six months. Only 31 percent of
employers with fewer than 50 employees plan to hire in the near term. In Oregon, businesses
with fewer than 50 employees outnumber larger employers 23 to 1.

Read more about our future hiring findings in the full news release. Questions? Contact our senior analyst, Charlie Johnson.

Workforce development and basketball in the news

2012-01-17T11:28:00.000-08:00

We have two local news snippets to share today: one from Central Oregon, and another from the Portland area.

According to a KTVZ story, Central Oregon Community College (COCC) has received two workforce development grants. A federal grant for $318,440 will provide targeted job training and education, while a state grant for $40,308 is directed at COCC's automotive technology program. COCC is part of an Oregon Consortium -- led by Clackamas Community College -- that was among 32 recipients of the federal grants nationwide. Get more details on the program plans associated with the grants in the full story.

In Portland, two basketball coaches have turned youth leagues, camps, and clinics into a full-time, year-round business. The Oregonian reports that two Hillsboro men started a business three years ago running camps and clinics as a side gig. HoopSource Basketball has now grown into a full-time business, and their new full-time jobs. You'll find more on this and other local small businesses on The Oregonian website.

Gift Shops and Shopping Centers Around the State

2012-01-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Several new gift shops were mentioned in this week's Around the State business announcements:

The Society of Umpqua Producers opened in Roseburg. The venture is a retail sales outlet for 52 Douglas County producers of locally made products such as jewelry, clothes, candles, soaps, and wood products. The store is staffed by about 12 Phoenix School students as part of their business arts class and a volunteer producer. The News-Review, 12/25/2011

What Lola Wants, a gift shop, opened in Bend. The Bulletin, 1/10/2012

The Cottage, a store offering eclectic local art, gifts, and flowers, opened in Scappoose. The South County Spotlight, 1/4/2012

A couple of large shopping centers and stores slated to open this month or next year were also in the news:

The first two buildings at the six-building 192nd Avenue Station in Vancouver are expected to open this spring. Tenants will include Tropical Smoothie, Twilight Pizza and Bistro, A Barber, Pinache hair salon, the chiropractic office of Dr. Paul Scott, Bedont Orthodontics, real estate company Real Living, and the Denim & Frills Children's Resale Boutique. The Columbian, 1/4/2012

New Seasons Markets plans to open a 30,000-square-foot store in northeast Portland in 2013. KGW, 1/6/2012

Walmart will open in Albany this month. It will employ 300 full- and part-time workers. Albany Democrat-Herald, 1/11/2012

Catch up on more business news in this week's full edition of Around the State, or try a customized search using our web tool.

Where Oregon Women Work

2012-01-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Women outnumber men in 40 percent of Oregon's industries. Two-thirds of jobs in the educational services sector are held by women. Women outnumber men by more than three to one in Oregon's health care and social assistance industry. Retail trade and accommodation and food services also employ greater numbers of women than men, along with finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; other services; and management of companies and enterprises.

Conversely, the industry with the highest ratio of men to women in Oregon is the mining, quarrying, oil, and gas extraction industry where only 15 percent of industry employment is female. Men dominate employment in the manufacturing sector, making up nearly three-fourths of the sector's workforce. In the construction industry, just two out of 10 Oregon workers are female.

The types of occupations that Oregon women are employed in span the spectrum. However, female workers are more concentrated in some jobs than others. Women hold nearly three out of five of Oregon's service jobs, and nearly two-thirds of sales and office jobs.

Average wages for Oregon women are lower than men in every industry. Utilities had the highest average wage for women at $4,822 per month, followed by wholesale trade ($3,998), finance and insurance ($3,827), information ($3,820), and management of companies and enterprises ($3,793).

The earnings gap between men and women is smallest in the accommodation and food services sector where women's average monthly earnings are 83 percent of their male counterparts and industry average earnings are the lowest statewide. In contrast, the finance and insurance industry has the largest gap between average earnings of women and men, with women making 54 percent of average earnings of men in the industry.

Interested in more information about employment by gender? Check out the full article, written by Workforce Analyst Shawna Sykes.

Oregon business registrations on the rise

2012-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

The Oregonian reports that Oregon added 1,100 registered businesses from January 2010 to January 2011. The Oregon Secretary of State's office released its 2011 business statistics recently, which showed the rise from 380,110 to 381,231 registered businesses statewide. These numbers track all enterprises registered with the state, including nonprofits and businesses outside of Oregon that operate divisions within the state.

Since 2007 Oregon has added 20,000 registered businesses; about 15,000 were added between 2007 and 2008 alone. However, the January 2012 count is about 4,000 businesses below the high of 384,000 in 2008.

It's difficult to draw broader conclusions about the economy from these numbers. The Employment Department's state employment economist noted in the article that while state business registrations have declined in some years, other measures of businesses showed gains for the same period of time.

Get more details in the full article.

New jobs from one corner of Oregon to another

2012-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

According to an article in The Oregonian, a New Seasons Market is making plans to build a new store in Northeast Portland. This $7 million investment will create construction jobs in addition to an estimated 160 in-store positions.

At the other corner of the state, the U.S. Department of the Interior recently approved the development of a 104-megawatt wind farm on Steens Mountain in Harney County. According to the Portland Business Journal, the Echanis Wind Energy Project, proposed on private land near Diamond, would generate enough power for about 30,000 homes. The project is also expected to create 219 construction jobs, 16 permanent jobs, and $4.5 million in property tax revenue.

U.S. Added 200,000 Jobs in December

2012-01-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 200,000 jobs in December. This marked 14 consecutive months of over-the-month job growth. December job gains occurred in transportation and warehousing (50,000), retail trade (28,000), manufacturing and health care (23,000 each), and mining (7,000).

The U.S. added roughly 1.6 million jobs from December 2010 to December 2011. Employment in the private sector rose by 212,000 in December and by 1.9 million over the year. Government employment changed little over the month but fell by 280,000 over the year.

This December's unemployment rate (8.5%) sat 0.9 percentage points below the December 2010 rate of 9.4 percent. The civilian labor force rose by 274,000 persons during the 12-month period, However, the labor force has declined by 170,000 from its 2011 peak in October.

Get more details on unemployment by age and gender, the long-term unemployed, and the rest of the nation's December employment situation in the full news release.

Announcements for New and Old Businesses Around the State

2012-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

This week's business announcements include several interesting new stores, carrying a variety of unique items:

Ink & Oil opened in Grants Pass. The design company specializes in re-purposing and re-using items so they don't end up in a landfill. It also offers letterpress services. Grants Pass Daily Courier, 12/31/2011

Frocky Jack Morgan opened in east Portland. The studio-showroom offers ballerina gowns, jewelry, head pieces, and wedding gowns. Neighborhood Notes, 1/3/2012

Ocean Beaches Glassblowing & Gallery opened in Newport. News-Times, 1/4/2012

Bloke, a botanical design shop, opened in northeast Portland. Neighborhood Notes, 12/7/2011

While you may be unfamiliar with the above companies, you'll likely recognize the names of two well-known businesses that are scheduled to close:

Blockbuster Video in Grants Pass will close on January 22nd. Grants Pass Daily Courier, 12/29/2011

Sears Holding Corp. will close its outlet at the Roseburg Valley Mall. The News-Review, 12/30/2011

View more of this week's business announcements, or try a customized search with our Around the State tool.

Oregon's Employment Projections 2010-2020

2012-01-04T10:45:00.000-08:00

Every other year, the Oregon Employment Department undertakes the task of projecting industry and occupational employment 10 years into the future. They are not calculated in order to pinpoint precise employment levels 10 years down the road, but rather to point students, job seekers, career changers, counselors, planners, policy makers, business leaders, and others in the right direction when making career planning decisions.

The Oregon Employment Department's 2010 to 2020 industry employment forecast predicts that total payroll employment will grow by 18 percent over the decade, adding 298,000 jobs to Oregon's economy. Oregon's private sector will grow by 20 percent over the period while government payrolls will expand by only 7 percent. Oregon's private-sector employers are expected to increase their payrolls by 275,600 jobs over the next 10 years, accounting for 92 percent of all new jobs in the state.

All of Oregon's major industry sectors are anticipated to grow in the coming years, but more than half of all growth is anticipated to occur in the state's three largest industries: educational and health services (+67,500 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities (+50,100 jobs); and professional and business services (+49,100 jobs). Oregon's manufacturing sector is expected to add 24,900 jobs over the period while the construction industry adds 18,500.

Examining the rate of growth, rather than the number of jobs gained, shows that construction is expected to be the state's second fastest growing industry over the next decade. Despite the fast growth rate, over the next 10 years Oregon's construction industry is expected to recover just half of the roughly 37,000 jobs that were lost in that industry during the recession. Oregon's manufacturing industry is also not anticipated to reach its pre-recession employment level before the year 2020.

Get more industry projection details in the full article written by our senior economic analyst, Charles Johnson. For regional projections, visit QualityInfo.org, select a region on the map at the top-right corner of the page, and select the Publications tab.

In the News: Coffee, Armored Services, and Manufacturing

2012-01-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! We're starting the year off with positive news at the local, state, and national levels.

Portland area:
The local news source Neighborhood Notes in Portland posted a story on their site noting the opening of at least 16 businesses in various places across the city in December. New establishments include a hypnotist, a distillery, and an artists' collective. Detailed listings by neighborhood are available in the full article.

The Oregonian recently reported that Stumptown Coffee Roasters will move its business operations to inner Southeast Portland. The company has chosen to anchor its existing business in a 37,000-square-foot space this summer. The Oregonian reports that the facility will house Stumptown's roasting, production, wholesale, training, quality control, administrative, and finance operations. Meanwhile, Stumptown has leased its second cafe location in Manhattan, and is eyeing locations in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Statewide:
Oregon Armored Service was acquired by the Swedish firm Loomis AB for $5.7 million, according to the Portland Business Journal. Loomis said it plans to retain the company's employees across Oregon. Office locations include Portland, Salem, Eugene, and Medford.

Nationally:
The Associated Press reports that manufacturing grew in December at its fastest rate in six months. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its manufacturing index rose to 53.9 in December, up from 52.7 in November. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

Oregon's Pay Differential and Creative Millennials

2011-12-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Oregon Public Broadcasting reported on the difference in median wages between men and women. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that nationwide, women earned $669 per week, compared to the median wage of $824 per week for men.

Oregon matches the national trend, with median weekly earnings of $659 per week for women, and $828 for men. BLS representative Todd Johnson explained that a number of factors influence the trend. Among these factors are the tendency of men to occupy more highly-paid positions, and the influence of family changes on women's career paths.

Shifting to younger workers, a USA Today story highlights some of the creative ways that Millennial (born between 1980 and the mid-to-late 1990s) make a living in a tough job market. For example, one young woman once used a fishing pole and a magnet to retrieve a stranger's keys from a sewer. She earned $80 for the task. A recent study by MetLife shows that Millennials were 8 percent more likely than the general population to be working extra hours at their job, taking second jobs, or freelancing.

The article describes a lack of job opportunity that is leading Millennials to become a transient workforce, taking any job, or jobs, they can to pay the bills. The MetLife data show that at least 40 percent of Millennials would take a job where they're overqualified, take additional job training, relocate, or go back to school to better position themselves for success in this tough job market. Get more details in the full story.