A closer look at Oregon’s economic forecast

OREGON. (KPTV) – Inflation is running rampant impacting Americans at the grocery store and the gas pump but now we’re getting a more detailed look at the direct impact we’re seeing on Oregonians.

The forecast shows how our local economy is doing amid the high inflation rates and in post-pandemic recovery.

The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits is now at a 53-year-low. 218,000 people across the country have filed for unemployment claims last week. This comes as Oregon’s unemployment rate just reached its lowest level in two years at just 3.7 percent in April.

But those low unemployment numbers don’t mean a total bounce back for our economy.

The forecast from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis shows while Oregon’s employment rate is back up to pre-pandemic levels, businesses are still struggling to fill open positions.

According to the report, there are about 100,000 job vacancies in Oregon and just 80,000 unemployed Oregonians.

Several key factors are driving the shortage of workers. First, about 20,000 more Oregonians are now self-employed. 16,000 less Oregonians are taking on multiple jobs. Due to pandemic travel restrictions, Oregon has about 55,000 fewer migrant workers.

The great resignation we’ve been seeing across the country is also adding to Oregon’s worker shortage, with about 5,000 more quits each month than we saw before the pandemic.

For more information including how inflation has affected Oregon, click here.

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