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A light-rail train crosses Southwest 170th Ave. in Aloha. Oregon's economy continued to expand this spring, a new UO report shows.
(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)
Oregon's economy is growing faster than normal, a trend that is likely to continue, according to a report out Tuesday from the University of Oregon.
The monthly economic update shows signs of consumer and business health improved in May. Fewer people filed for unemployment insurance, many sectors increased workers, contractors applied for more residential building permits and factories gave employees more hours at work.
A gauge that tracks such trends, called the Oregon Measure of Economic Activity, increased to an average of 0.50 for the three months ending in May, up from 0.32 the previous month. (The three-month averages help smooth out volatility.)
Any reading above zero suggests Oregon's economy is expanding faster than typical.
Even so, the report wasn't all rosy in May: activity slowed at the Port of Portland, as did temporary hiring statewide.
Yet data suggests economic growth in Oregon will continue "at an above average pace of activity," said Tim Duy, an economics professor and author of the report.
A separate UO gauge, known as the Index of Economic Indicators, bolsters that statement. The measure relies on eight data points that often signal future trends, such as layoffs and freight traffic. Month after month, it has slowly been gaining ground this year.
The report says the state will likely keep seeing gains in line with the "general upward trajectory" of the national economy.
-- Molly Young