March 2018 Oregon Regional Economic Indicators

Good morning.  Attached is the University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes for March 2018.  The release date is today, May 29, 2018. We thank KeyBank for their generous support of this project.

Oregon Regional Economic Indicators:

The ongoing economic expansion continues to lift activity in Oregon’s major metropolitan areas. Highlights of this month’s report include:

View full report with charts here…

• For all regions covered by this report, both raw and moving average measures (which smooth monthly volatility) were solidly above zero in March, indicating an above-trend pace of activity (trend activity differs across regions).
• New home construction continues to be mixed overall, with positive contributions in the Portland and Bend regions but nearly neutral to negative in other areas. Housing sales are solid in all areas.
• The Eugene-Springfield measure has retreated from an unusual spike in January though remains at a level consistent with previous expansions. Low unemployment rates supported all measures. In contrast, weak labor force growth was a negative factor, although this is likely temporary.
• Low initial unemployment claims also continue to be a supportive factor for these measures and indicate job growth is likely to remain positive for the foreseeable future.

Media Contacts:
Tim Duy – 541.346.4660 (w)