November 2019 Oregon Regional Economic Indicators

duy@uoregon.edu

Good morning. Below is the University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes for November 2019. The release date is January 17, 2020. We thank KeyBank for their generous support of this project.

Link to full report (with charts!) here.

Oregon Regional Economic Indicators:
Oregon’s largest metropolitan regions continued to post economic gains in November although the pace of activity cooled a bit compared to October. Highlights of this month’s report include: Continue Reading →

November 2019 Oregon Statewide Economic Indicators

duy@uoregon.edu

Happy New Year!

This is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for November 2019. The release date is December 30, 2019. Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank

Link to full report (with many charts!) here.

The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity was nearly unchanged in November at 0.63 compared to an upwardly revised 0.58 in October. The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators rose 0.2% in November following an identical gain the previous month. Highlights of this month’s report include:

  • The manufacturing sector made a nearly neutral contribution as manufacturing employment picked up speed in November; continued job gains in manufacturing suggest the fall in hours-worked in that sector is not related to the economic cycle.
  • A drop in the volatile multi-family component of housing permits was a drag on the measure, but this was more than compensated for by an increase in construction employment (which reached a record high in November).
  • Falling initial jobless claims supported the UO index; claims have been edging down after climbing slightly last year. Employment services payrolls (mostly temporary help workers) fell but the recent trend remains positive.
  • Orders for core capital goods were flat while the Oregon weight distance tax (smoothed), a measure of trucking activity, has been a bit weaker in the past two months after rising to nearly its cycle high in September.
  • The spread between long- and short-term rates turned positive as the Federal Reserve cut short-term rates at the end of October for a third time this year. Typically, a positive spread foreshadows continued economic growth.

The combination of measures in this report suggests ongoing economic expansion albeit at a slower pace of growth compared to last year.

Media Contacts:
Tim Duy – 541.346.4660 (w)

October 2019 Oregon Statewide Economic Indicators

duy@uoregon.edu

This is the University of Oregon State of Oregon Economic Indicators for October 2019. The release date is December 6, 2019. Special thanks to our sponsor, KeyBank

Link to full report (with many charts!) here.

The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity was o.39 in October, rising from an upwardly revised 0.25 in September. The moving average measure, which smooths out the volatility, stands at 0.13, above average but lower than typically experienced during an economic expansion (“zero” indicates average growth over the 1990-present period). Continue Reading →