Portland Job Growth: Negative

December 7, 2010

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Bloomberg chart:
H/T Pete the Banker
And now the Portland Business Alliance and other business groups have come out with a new study that is devastating in its assessment of the Portland/Metro regions business and jobs growth. Find it Here.
The Portland-metro region faces a crisis. If unstopped, the loss of jobs in Multnomah County and the stagnant-to-declining wages and incomes across the region will erode our quality of life, not just in Portland-metro, but across Oregon because of the region’s key role in the overall state economy.Key findings:
  • Multnomah County has lost 26,463 private-sector jobs since 1997. It ranks second to the bottom in job creation among 199 counties in the west* over the last decade.
  • Portland-metro residents have lower wages and incomes than residents of peer regions. Because Oregon is an income-tax dependent state this means fewer resources for schools, law enforcement and other important public services.
 Key Questions they’re asking (that we already know the answers to because it’s what got us here in the first place):
  • Does our community truly welcome business and job creation, particularly as it relates to the large, internationally traded firms that offer higher wages?
  • When we must make trade-offs between competing interests, how do jobs and economic growth fair? Can we institute a ‘jobs impact analysis’ for every policy consideration?
  • Are our land use, transportation and tax policies supportive of growing jobs and incomes?
  • Can we nurture our small businesses – our entrepreneurial class – so that they have the opportunity to grow and thrive, generating more jobs?
Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com