Study Says Oregon Has 40th Best (12th Worst) State Economy.

Main page for American Cities Business Journals study is HERE.

Study, which includes DC and 50 states, says

• Previous high flying Nevada, Florida, and California had the worst state economies.
• Oregon's 40th best ranking in 2010 is an improvement from 2009, when study says we had the 45th best state economy.
• Oregon's best ranking in last 6 years was in 2006, when the study says we had the 11th best state economy.

Oregon specific data is pasted in table below.

2010 Rank	40
State	Oregon
Employment Score	-5.26
Private Sector Jobs (May 2010)	1,285,300
% Growth in Private Sector Jobs (2005-10)	-5.30%
% Growth in Private Sector Jobs (2009-10)	-1.90%
Raw Growth in Private Sector Jobs (2005-10)	-72,400
Raw Growth in Private Sector Jobs (2009-10)	-24,800
Unemployment Rate May 2010	10.60%
Rank 2010	40
Rank 2009	45
Rank 2008	22
Rank 2007	14
Rank 2006	11
Rank 2005	15

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Off Topic: Finland Tops World Prosperity Index.

Props to my peeps; US ranks 9th.

Index background is HERE; full report is HERE. American Enterprise Institute hosted a forum this week that includes presentation, video, and audio links within web page HERE.

Index measurements include:

• Economic Fundamentals – a growing, sound economy that provides opportunities for wealth creation
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation – an environment friendly to new enterprises and the commercialisation of new ideas
• Democratic Institutions – transparent and accountable governing institutions that promote economic growth
• Education – an accessible, high-quality educational system that fosters human development
• Health – the physical well being of the populace
• Safety and Security – a safe environment in which people can pursue opportunity
• Governance – an honest and effective government that preserves order and encourages productive citizenship
• Personal Freedom – the degree to which individuals can choose the course of their lives
• Social Capital – trustworthiness in relationships and strong communities

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Hacienda's Micro Mercantes Products/Loan Program Featured in Oregon Public Radio Story.

OPB story HERE includes audio links as well as story transcript. An excerpt:

"Summer is high season for fresh cooking ingredients in Oregon. This weekend, people will flock to farmers' markets all around the state. Most markets also feature a few homemade foods for you to try. April Baer checked in with an operation that’s helping some mother-daughter chefs take their business to a wider audience.

When Lourdes Hernandez makes tamales, the main ingredient is tradition.Lourdes Hernandez: “I learned from my grandma and my mom, and they still sell tamales in Mexico. What make the best of my tamales is that I put a lot of my heart, my knowledge, my expertise, and it also it has the flavor of my country or origin.”

That’s Hernandez, getting a little translation help from Pietro Ferrari. Hernandez is part of Micro Mercantes, a small business that makes and sells food at farmers’ markets.

The program was formed by Ferrari’s agency, Hacienda CDC. It’s a non-profit housing and economic development group based in Portland, that offers microloans to help Latinos get their businesses off the ground."

A schedule of when/where to find Micro Mercantes vendors and products is HERE.

A short YouTube video showing Micro Mercantes food prep in Hacienda's commerical kitchen, as well as sales at the Hollywood Farmer's Market, is HERE.

(Full disclosure: I am a member of Hacienda's Board).

New Excel Workbook with Oregon "Shovel Ready" Projects.

I have constructed an Excel workbook with Oregon "shovel ready" projects from the U.S. Conference of Mayor's report that I previously posted about HERE.

The new Excel workbook is HERE.

Some observations/clarifications:

1. Instead of the 8 housing projects my previous post indicated, there are a total of 10 Oregon housing related projects, 8 funded by CDBG and the 2 others apparently are public housing projects. These 10 projects produce 192 jobs, require $11.4 million in funding, and require $59,375 in funding per job.These 10 projects are listed in a seperate worksheet in the workbook, sorted by funding required per job.
   
2. You will find several other worksheets in the workbook, including a worksheet sorted from highest to lowest funding required per job and a comparison of Oregon costs by program/sector to US Totals.
3. Funding required per job for Oregon projects is 31% below the national average ($59,570 vs. $86,314).
4. Transit funding required per job is 36% higher in Oregon than in US ($118,731 vs. $87,402).
   
5. The workbook includes a pivot table so you can create your own views of the Oregon projects.
6. While the national report has a program/sector called "school modernization", I did NOT find ANY Oregon projects with that designation. (If you find any, let me know, it's possible I missed them in the 607 page report).
   

While I am sure they will be defended, some projects like the $80 million/ $114,000+ per job for Lake Oswego sewer improvements and the $1.5 million. $65,000 per job to resurface Eugene tennis courts seem sure to questioned.

[Pic is from Wilson River Highway construction, posted at the Oregon Blue Book, Depression Era Public Works website HERE].

New Study Projects Housing Price Decline Economic Impact.

Bloomberg News story is HERE.

PDF of study itself (link is also found within story) is HERE.