UO index shows slow economic improvement in Oregon despite weak hiring activity.
Hiring activity is still relatively weak, but Oregon’s economic forecast is slowly improving according to the University of Oregon’s Index of Economic Indicators.
In addition to a slight rise in the index from January to February, initial unemployment claims were down 35% in February compared to the year before.
“We’ve been pulling out of this recession since late summer, early fall,” [index author Tim Duy] said. “Even though the growth we’ve seen is increasingly sustainable, it’s not enough to drive job growth higher, which is what most people care about.”
The index rose to 88.7 in February, up from 88.4 in January. The index uses 1997 as its base year of 100. The higher the monthly number compared with the base of 100, the better the economic forecast in coming months. The lower the number, the worse the outlook.
Read the full story at The Register-Guard.
{biztweet}Oregon economic index{/biztweet}
