The January 2017 Oregon Regional Economic Indicators was released today. Full report is available here. We thank KeyBank for their generous support of this project.
- Regional economies enter 2017 on a solid note. Regional economies in Oregon posted mixed numbers in December. Highlights of this month’s report include:
- For all regions, moving average measures (which smooth monthly volatility) remain above zero, indicating above trend activity. Recall that these figures measure relative average growth; each region has its own underlying growth rate.
- Strong sales numbers reveal that housing activity remains at an elevated pace across the state, but only the Portland metro area and Central Oregon regions are experiencing new construction at levels that would contribute positively to the regional measures. And even in those regions, new supply is insufficient to constrain housing prices.
- Labor markets are generally solid across most regions. Sector-level employment components remain mostly neutral to positive, reflecting the fairly broad-based nature of job growth.
- Unemployment rates remain low. Initial unemployment claims also hover near levels historically consistent with continued job growth.
- The Eugene-Springfield and Salem areas are posting numbers near cycle highs while other areas have seen a tempering in the pace of growth in recent months. Still, growth in those areas remains above average and generally consistent with past expansions.
