The ravaged condo and residential markets in Oregon have received most of the attention in the housing collapse, but the downturn, which has sapped many retirement funds, finally is reaching another housing sector: senior-living communities.
Oregon’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the country and is heading toward double digits. If employment does not improve, one out of every 10 Oregonians will be looking for work by the middle of the year.
“If anyone in business is under 40, they haven’t been through this stuff. When you’re an old guy, you have a model of how to get through it.”
FEBRUARY 2009: INDICATORS, THE STATE WE’RE IN All “latest” numbers are for November 2008 unless otherwise noted. Latest Month Previous Month Previous Year Annual Change REAL ESTATE/CONSTRUCTION PERMITS Portland-area homes New listings 2,687 3,605 3,369 -20.2% Willamette Valley Multiple listing sales, millions $93.5 $113.6 $127.3 -26.6% Central Oregon Multiple listing sales, millions $53.5 $91.6 $108.6 … Read more
From businesses such as Nutcase Helmets to Bike Friday, Oregon’s bike madness fuels a $150 million industry. Not to mention that there’s an organized bike ride every 27 minutes.
Until early December, the biggest news coming from Vestas Wind Systems, a Denmark-based windmill company with its North American headquarters in Portland, was that Washington state’s largest utility, Puget Sound Energy, had placed an order for 22 of its wind turbine generators.
In the final five months of 2008, somewhere between 2,000 and 2,400 workers in Silicon Forest lost their jobs.