The State of the Economy report continues to examine Portland metro’s economic recovery over the course of 2022. The report highlights: jobs recovery trends in the most affected industries, continued population decline in Multnomah County, growing unaffordability, and a comparative tax analysis based on household or business location across the Portland region. 

This special report expands on last year’s data and digs deeper into how Downtown Portland plays a vital role in our regional and state economies. The pandemic has disrupted the role of downtowns across the U.S. with virtual meetings and hybrid work but has not eliminated the need for face-to-face collaboration. As we enter 2023, this report assesses the economic condition of the Downtown and Central City.

This year’s report takes a closer look at what happened over the course of 2021—using trusted economic indicators—and measures Portland in comparison to other U.S. “peer” cities using the latest data available. The report highlights: growth and recovery trends in the most affected industries, promising diversity trends, lack of downtown commercial and visitor activity, and a comparative cost of living analysis for the Portland Metro area.

Past reports dive deep into critical issues such as Housing Affordability and Household Tax Burden. This year's Cost of Living report considers the full package of household expenses and compares so-called “living wages” in Portland and its peer regions. The conclusion: Portland is a relatively expensive place to live.

This year’s report on the state of our economy takes a closer look at what happened over the course of 2020, using trusted economic indicators and measures Portland compared to other U.S. “peer” regions using the latest data available.

This report produced by the Portland Business Alliance, takes a closer look at the impact new local taxes are having on household budgets, with analysis provided by ECONorthwest.

This annual update on the state of our economy, led by the Portland Business Alliance and the Value of Jobs coalition, marks an unprecedented moment. We are in the longest economic expansion on record. And yet, there’s a 1-in-3 chance our region is at risk of a recession in the next year. 

This report produced by the Portland Business Alliance, takes a closer look at housing affordability across the greater Portland region. From the dark years of the recession, our Value of Jobs reports repeatedly note how an insufficient housing supply impacts affordability.

The 2019 Oregon State of Trade report, produced by the Alliance, Pacific Northwest International Trade Association (PNITA) and the Value of Jobs coalition, tracks the latest data and explores the impact of international trade across the greater Portland region and the state of Oregon.

The 2018 Economic Check-Up tracks strong economic expansion, record employment and population growth. At the same time, it also sheds light on continuing challenges, most notably: A lack of housing supply and affordability, increased congestion, and disproportionate prosperity for all.

For the 2018 Economic Check-Up we took a closer look at the challenges and opportunities for attracting and retaining jobs in East Multnomah County, which is defined as the area of the county east of Interstate 205 for the purpose of this report. 

Since 2010, the Alliance has released an annual Economic Check-Up to evaluate the region's performance. This year's report compares Portland-metro's economic performance against a new set of regions: Austin, Seattle, Salt Lake, Nashville and Indianapolis. While Portland shines in a number of measures, including its educated workforce and median household income, growing home prices and unequal prosperity remain a challenge that the region must address.

In this 2017 report, based on recent technological innovations, researchers predict the impacts of increasing automation and what that means for Oregonians and their jobs. The next wave of automation and the future of work have risen to the top of economic and policy discussions. 

This 2017 inventory update focuses on the development status of large 25+ net acre industrial sites in the Portland region. The goal is to help inform continued local, regional and state efforts to ensure an adequate supply of land to attract traded-sector jobs.

Portland-metro’s regional economy continued to rebound in 2016. A growing economy, increasing jobs and wages and high productivity are significant strengths. As Portland-metro continues to grow, it is undergoing fundamental economic shifts that are good news for some, but prosperity is not equally spread across the region.

In this seventh year of recovery after the Great Recession, Portland-metro is repeating the trends seen in the region’s economic history. When the recession began in 2007, Portland-metro fell faster and harder than comparable metro regions across the U.S. And when recovery began in 2009, the region grew jobs faster than the national average.

During the last three decades, Portland-metro, like most regions of the United States, has experienced a decline in middle-income jobs. The result is increased job and income polarization, a trend many policy makers are trying to address, here in Portland-metro and across the United States.

This 2014 report is a continuation of the 2005 Cost of Congestion report that found that our region’s economic competitiveness is heavily dependent on an efficient and reliable transportation system. The report shows our reliance on the state’s transportation system to move goods, ensure access to labor, and increase productivity, all of which impact revenues accruing to the state for vital public services.

In this fifth annual Economic Check-Up shows that the region added back 84,875 jobs. Much of the recession recovery has been in the local sector and Portland-metro’s recovery of traded-sector jobs outpaces the national average for metro areas, yet lags continue in key sectors, such as manufacturing and construction.

The availability of large and market-ready industrial sites is critical to expanding and attracting traded-sector businesses and growing middle-income jobs needed for a prosperous region. This report is an update to the 2012 Regional Industrial Site Readiness Project of large (25+acres) industrial sites within the area Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and select urban reserves.

In Portland-metro, as in nearly every major U.S. metro region, the health care industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. The job growth is impressive, but, for this industry at least, jobs are a secondary part of the story. More important are health outcomes and the efficiency of the health care delivery system.

The fourth annual Economic Check-Up focuses on three measures that indicate the health of the Portland-metro economy: Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP), employment and income. For the first time since 2008, median income in Portland-metro increased and the region gained back more than 90 percent of the jobs lost since the recession. 

This report also follows up on a 2010 Value of Jobs Coalition international trade study, which revealed the region’s dependence on international trade. Included in this report are three inter-related studies about international trade, the Portland Harbor’s economic impact and marine industrial businesses engaged in trade activity.

This report shows the relationship between higher education and economic growth. For decades, we have understood the critical connection between an educated workforce and economic growth. This report reveals that we need to be more deliberate and thoughtful about the type of degrees our students are earning and how those degrees translate to higher earnings.

This 2012 report has welcome good news: Portland-metro has gained back about 60 percent of the jobs we lost since August 2008. This report takes a look at where that job recovery has occurred, and we find some encouraging highlights. Jobs in construction grew considerably and employment gains were made in food service and retail, reflecting renewed consumer confidence.

This study looks at one critical part of the traded-sector economy — manufacturing. The production of traded-sector goods is still the backbone of Portland-metro’s traded-sector employment. A strong manufacturing sector translates into higher incomes and significantly better health and retirement benefits for Portland-metro workers.

This report shows the region’s economic challenges and opportunities and illustrate how private-sector jobs support our region’s quality of life and public services. Higher wages from traded-sector jobs will, on average, generate more revenue for critical services like schools, health care and social services than local-sector jobs.

This report is a companion to the 2012 Land Availability report and analyzes the challenges in both time and money in preparing large-lot industrial sites for development and the potential for both job creation and added local and state revenue.

There are a number of factors that help a metro region’s economy thrive – an educated workforce, sound infrastructure, a coordinated transportation system and available land to grow and attract employers. This report examines one ingredient of regional economic health: the readiness of large-lot industrial lands.

In the 2011 report, the data points reveal opportunities and challenges for Portland-metro. These challenges and opportunities raise questions of how we leverage these opportunities and resolve these challenges to improve our region’s quality of life.

Portland-metro has one of the best multimodal transportation hubs on the West Coast for connecting domestic and international markets. Trade directly and indirectly supported more than 34,000 jobs in the state in 2006.

This first annual Economic Check-up show that Portland-metro has many economic assets: a strategic location on the Pacific Rim, a robust transportation system, a relatively low cost of living and a quality of life that attracts young, well-educated individuals. Over the past four decades, however, Portland-metro’s economic performance has not kept pace with a number of its peers.