January 2017 Statewide Economic Indicators

The January 2017 State of Oregon Economic Indexes of  was released today.  Full report is available here.  We thank KeyBank for their generous support of this project.

The Oregon economy maintained solid momentum as it entered 2017. Highlights of this month’s report include:

• The three-month moving average, which smooths month-to-month volatility in the measure, was 0.72 (“zero” indicates average growth over the 1990-present period), roughly unchanged over the previous three months.
• Components of the household sector was solid across the board. Consumer sentiment, which rose in the wake of the election, made a substantial positive contribution.
• The University of Oregon Index of Economic Indicators was effectively unchanged during the month.
• Initial unemployment claims rose from the historically low levels seen in recent months. The series may have fallen as low as it is likely to fall. Employment services payrolls (largely temporary help workers) edged upward. On net, both measures suggest continued job growth.
• The Oregon Weight Distance tax, a measure of trucking activity, edged up. Core manufacturing orders for capital goods and average weekly hours for manufacturing workers were largely unchanged.
• Consumer sentiment rose again; sentiment has been strong since the election but this strength has yet to translate into a faster pace of consumer spending.

Together, these indicators suggest ongoing growth in Oregon at an above average pace of activity. Indicators were updated to incorporate revised employment data. The revisions did not affect the qualitative assessment of the data.