Real estate markets are unbalanced in most parts of the country: vacancy is too high, but construction is too low. That sounds contradictory, because construction should be low when vacancy is high. Looking forward, however, we’ll find insufficient supply when the economy improves, says Oregon economist Bill Conerly.

Gov. Kitzhaber’s freeze on Oregon government hiring is indicative of a larger hiring slowdown. Two-thirds of CEOs of the largest U.S. companies don’t plan to hire in the next six months.

Seasonal retail hiring helped Oregon’s unemployment rate fall to 9.1%, the lowest it has been in three years.

Oregon’s top publicly traded stocks have not necessarily been valued for their quarterly performance of late. But Oregon Business research editor Brandon Sawyer runs the numbers and finds earnings rising at the largest companies.