Why higher unemployment / has always been higher (Portland, Eugene: transplants, attorneys)

[rarvesen]

I know this has been discussed a lot in this forum, but I have questions on unemployment / economy. We are looking into moving to Oregon long term. We have two children and the idea is to move to an area where we plan to stay so they can go to college and start their life in the area (if they want, they might choose to move to another part of the country). I'm not concerned about the economy for myself, but for our kids when they graduate from college and try to find a job.

- Do you know why Oregon has higher unemployment / worse economy?

- Has this always been the case, or is this a cycle, and 5 - 10 years from now Oregon could have one of the lowest unemployment rates?

Thanks for any information.

[Minervah]

Ever since I have lived in Portland this has been an issue. I moved here in the late 70's from Chicago and literally had someone threaten to beat me up for supposedly having taken away a potential job from an Oregonian. Actually it was a transfer and the company relocated me because I already knew how to do the job.

There always seemed to be a lack of jobs in many fields here especially jobs like clerical, food service or sales. Lately you can add IT, graphic arts and anything in the legal profession. Not many manufacturing jobs either.

Other than the steady stream of transplants, the many lay-offs occurring by companies both large and small and the lack of new companies to come here and hire I couldn't tell you why from a business point of view these conditions exist.

Of course there are jobs for which those who are highly qualified are available. Sometimes people mention them on this forum. So I would never say never. Just to any anyone considering relocation here, please check out the availability of jobs before you come here and plan ahead to bring enough to live on if you come here without one.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I do know that up till a few decades ago, except for cities like Portland, Oregon's economy was based on agriculture, timber, fishing and the like.

The major influx of out of staters began only a few decades ago when the above industries took a nose dive and Oregon land and housing became very inexpensive compared to other west coast areas.
Until then, Oregon pretty much held it's own and nobody bothered us much.

With a very "progressive" and anti-big business culture, and emphasis on preserving our natural beauty, big industry/business never got a good toehold in our state.
When you leave the I5 and I84 corridors in any direction, Oregon becomes very rural, very quickly.

You won't find big factories and top Fortune 500 companies in Oregon.
For a company to get established, it's a major hurdle with regulations, fees, environmental impact studies, taxes, etc.

IMHO, Oregon's economy has never been "strong", and probably won't ever be in my lifetime.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I do know that up till a few decades ago, except for cities like Portland, Oregon's economy was based on agriculture, timber, fishing and the like.

The major influx of out of staters began only a few decades ago when the above industries took a nose dive and Oregon land and housing became very inexpensive compared to other west coast areas.
Until then, Oregon pretty much held it's own and nobody bothered us much.

With a very "progressive" and anti-big business culture, and emphasis on preserving our natural beauty, big industry/business never got a good toehold in our state.
When you leave the I5 and I84 corridors in any direction, Oregon becomes very rural, very quickly.

You won't find big factories and top Fortune 500 companies in Oregon.
For a company to get established, it's a major hurdle with regulations, fees, environmental impact studies, taxes, etc.

IMHO, Oregon's economy has never been "strong", and probably won't ever be in my lifetime.

I agree. States like Texas that have few zoning laws are great attractions for businesses. Oregon works hard to protect it's natural areas and as such it can be daunting for companies to consider coming here. I think it will always be this way. Oregon culture is very different from the rest of the country.

[Smiled]

"IMHO, Oregon's economy has never been "strong", and probably won't ever be in my lifetime."

Unless you're a chip designer.

There's plenty of business here, but perenially more people want to live here than the area's jobs support.

We've cut higher education back (we're 46th in the nation) and the state university system only gets 12% of its funds from the State. But - we have very low taxes.

When Genentech built their plant in Hillsboro, I spoke with their government-relations guy, who said Oregon was a dream - all the necessary players gathered in one room, and made things happen.

[Daisy32673]

Outside of Portland is pretty much rural area filled with small towns (besides Salem and Eugene). There are no large businesses besides the tech industry here and Oregon is not a favorable state for small business either because of the taxes imposed on them. I cant decide if Oregon wants growth or if they prefer keeping things at bay to a point where there is hardly any development. Thing about our unemployment rate now is it really isnt accurate. It doesnt account for underemployment and all the people who have given up looking for a job. It will get better but Oregons economy has never really "taken off" or skyrocketed.

I see two real problems with Oregon's employment situation.

1. For decades, much of the state put all its eggs in the lumber/grass seed basket. When housing crashed, so did the industries that support it.
2. Way too many people who have no useful skills. It'd be great if everyone could do what they wanted, but we can't all be "artists" who work at coffee shops.

OR actually seems pretty good for the people who have invested the time and effort to develop really technical skills and knowledge. See Intel, Tektronix, SolarWorld, FEI, Genentech, etc. What it doesn't have, however, are jobs for people who thought a high school education (or less) and their hands would be enough, or jobs for people who think they're going to land a six-figure income after getting their degree in English Lit or psychology or fashion or whatever.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by JasonF

I see two real problems with Oregon's employment situation.

1. For decades, much of the state put all its eggs in the lumber/grass seed basket. When housing crashed, so did the industries that support it.
2. Way too many people who have no useful skills. It'd be great if everyone could do what they wanted, but we can't all be "artists" who work at coffee shops.

OR actually seems pretty good for the people who have invested the time and effort to develop really technical skills and knowledge. See Intel, Tektronix, SolarWorld, FEI, Genentech, etc. What it doesn't have, however, are jobs for people who thought a high school education (or less) and their hands would be enough, or jobs for people who think they're going to land a six-figure income after getting their degree in English Lit or psychology or fashion or whatever.

If I could add a number 3. it would be that even people with skills and education can have problems. Like attorneys either newly graduated or experienced.

And number 4. would be experienced and educated people in their 50's who get laid off and face age discrimiation.

If I could add a number 3. it would be that even people with skills and education can have problems. Like attorneys either newly graduated or experienced.

Meh. The massive oversupply of attorneys has been a known problem for years. I can muster some sympathy for the experienced ones, but people who go down that route now thinking it's going to lead to a six figure income deserve what they get for making major life decisions based on wishful thinking and willful ignorance of reality.

[ccjarider]

My company (in manufacturing) just cannot find qualified Engineers in the Portland area. This is why they paid me to come here from Midwest. Now I am going back to find qualified staff for my department. Company is a long time, local firm and would love to hire local people, (if nothing else it saves a lot of money) but cannot find them.

As a newcomer, it is weird for me to see such a dearth of mechanical and electrical talent in a town this size.