12.1% unemployment in Oregon! (Portland, Corvallis: sales, unemployment rate, high school)

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

What are those people doing? Are they under the misimpression that Oregon has jobs for them?

A lot of them are young people who have grown up with the ethic that go can have whatever you want. They never learned to do prudent real-life risk analysis. Many simply lack the needed life experience to understand the vagaries of economic decline.

[PhxNative09]

Anyone know how to find the unemployment numbers for the Portland area specifically? I've always been under the impression that the Portland numbers are a little better than the state as a whole.

Also the article I read in the Oregonian specifically stated that people coming to Oregon was not the/a major contributing factor: "State population growth, or in-migration, is not the main cause."

[LeftCoastee]

Originally Posted by PhxNative09

Anyone know how to find the unemployment numbers for the Portland area specifically? I've always been under the impression that the Portland numbers are a little better than the state as a whole.

Also the article I read in the Oregonian specifically stated that people coming to Oregon was not the/a major contributing factor: "State population growth, or in-migration, is not the main cause."

You are right, Portland does have better numbers than the rest of the state. Nowhere near cheery, but about a full percentage point better.

Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas

These are NOT seasonally adjusted. The updated numbers for March '09 will come out this Friday (17th).

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Smiled

It is ALWAYS hard to find a job in Oregon, and it will ALWAYS pay less. That's why housing used to be cheaper.

Oregon incomes did not change increase by 20-30% during the boom, only home prices did. Housing wasn't cheaper because of lower incomes. Housing was cheaper because supply and demand dictated that it be cheaper, which in a healthy economy is related to incomes.

[FVWinters]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHE...employment.jpg

Now that's a curve! Ouch. Things are not looking good, can't get much worse though, can it?

I wouldn't want to bet my mortgage.
Even if the economy turns around tomorrow, employers will likely hold off on hiring until they are sure they aren't seeing a false dawn. This could take several months to nearly a year. The numbers here will still be high for a while.

Originally Posted by LeftCoastee

You are right, Portland does have better numbers than the rest of the state. Nowhere near cheery, but about a full percentage point better.

Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas

These are NOT seasonally adjusted. The updated numbers for March '09 will come out this Friday (17th).

Other areas listed include:
Corvallis at 8.1%
Portland/Vancouver at 10.7
Salem at 11.4
Eugene at 12.8
Medford at an unenviable 14.0 and poor Bend/Redmond at 16.1 percent.

But none of these are anywhere near as badly off as El Centro, CA whose unemployment is a staggering 24.5% and counting.

[davefr]

Originally Posted by BLAZER PROPHET

I'm not a big fan of our current gov, but I note he's working hard to bring in some new jobs that pay well.

He (and the legislature) is doing the exact opposite and sending jobs elsewhere. At one time Oregon was well poised for manufacturing and industrial growth but most of that has been frittered away by our business unfriendly climate and punitive tax structure.

An example is our high minimum wage. This surpresses job creation and makes it harder for those trying to enter the workforce for the first time.

[LeftCoastee]

Originally Posted by davefr

He (and the legislature) is doing the exact opposite and sending jobs elsewhere. At one time Oregon was well poised for manufacturing and industrial growth but most of that has been frittered away by our business unfriendly climate and punitive tax structure.

#1: I get it. You feel Oregon is bad for business. If you're going to continue to post about it, either give more details or be more original in your wording. Its like a broken record at this point.

See your posts:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/8324509-post6.html
https://www.city-data.com/forum/8320601-post47.html
https://www.city-data.com/forum/7752905-post4.html
https://www.city-data.com/forum/7541890-post5.html

I've never tried to start a business in Oregon so you could very well be 100% correct with your statements, but a little substance and details would be nice. As far as your punitive taxation comments, I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from. I've read almost the opposite statements with respect to Oregon business taxes (the comments section is interesting as well):

BlueOregon: Oregon Business Taxes: We̢۪re number 2 (lowest)

#2: I am not a liberal. But exactly how many jobs has the president sent overseas in less than three months in office? I hope you're not talking about the "Buy American" provision.

I guess my overall point is that if you're going to throw out constant negative statements, at least provide some well thought out details. Until then, you get no more credibility than I would give to some right-wing nut job who spends days listening to Rush Linbaugh and then parroting his every word.

Edit: Sorry if this comes off as testy, its April 15th and I just wrote some checks that were much larger than they ought to be.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

A lot of them are young people who have grown up with the ethic that go can have whatever you want. They never learned to do prudent real-life risk analysis. Many simply lack the needed life experience to understand the vagaries of economic decline.

Depending on what employment fields those young people are in, they've probably also grown up with the idea that jobs are "temporary" (meaning you'll have little employment security and will have to change jobs). In engineering, for instance, if you want actual raises (other than a less-than-actual-cost-of-living raises), you have to job shop. You get accustomed to entire divisions being axed after a big job ends and movinbg on to another company and maybe another town.

Without the stability of a permanent career and company, why NOT move? (There are reasons, such as family, but I was going for the rhetorical.)

[davefr]

Originally Posted by LeftCoastee

I've never tried to start a business in Oregon so you could very well be 100% correct with your statements, but a little substance and details would be nice.

OK Here you go:

http://www.sbecouncil.org/uploads/sb...08%5B1%5D1.pdf

We're definately in the least friendly category for business survivability statistics.

[pw72]

What a mess. Has anyone done a real study of why Oregon's unemployment is so high? Neighboring states, while still high in Idaho and Washington, are much lower. What is the difference?