Press Release: SOREDI Launches Southern Oregon Economic Conditions Index

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOREDI Launches Southern Oregon Economic Conditions Index

MEDFORD, Ore., June 4, 2026. Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI) today launched the inaugural Southern Oregon Economic Conditions Index (SOECI), the most ambitious regional stakeholder survey SOREDI has produced. The 2026 edition invites business owners, public officials, and leaders in education, healthcare, and community organizations across Jackson and Josephine counties to make their voices heard, and establishes a baseline that will track regional perception year over year.

"There is more energy around economic development at the state level right now than Oregon has had in years," said Blair Sundell, Executive Director of SOREDI. "The Prosperity Council, the Governor's Roadmap, and the work of Business Oregon all need to keep momentum, while making sure Southern Oregon isn’t just a footnote. The Index is how we stay at the table and push the envelope. Paired with SOREDI's economic data dashboard, we will see where Southern Oregon can deliver outsized impact.”

The Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce conducts Business Retention and Expansion work, and chambers across the region survey their members on operational and policy concerns. The SOECI complements that work with a broad annual view across business, government, education, healthcare, and community sectors.

The survey takes about ten minutes at soredisurvey.org. The more voices in the Index, the more accurately it reflects the region telling its own story.

Six diffusion indices summarize respondent input: Economic Conditions, Regional Capacity, Workforce, Forward Outlook, Policy Alignment, and Regional Collaboration, using the convention from the Federal Reserve regional surveys. The methodology also draws on the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the Pew Research Center, and others. Twenty invited reviewers cognitively pretested the survey before the field period opened, and a Pre-Publication Review Team will challenge the draft's methodology, findings, and conclusions before publication in mid-July, ahead of September's Legislative Days leading up to the 2027 Long Session.

_______________________________

About SOREDI

Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI) is the designated Economic Development District for Jackson and Josephine counties. Since 1987, SOREDI has convened public and private partners around shared regional priorities, stewarded the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), and provided capital access and regional insights that support the long-term economic health of Southern Oregon.

Media contact

Blair Sundell, Executive Director
[email protected]  ·  (541) 200-2177

###