Governor Praises Steady Job Growth And Lower Unemployment

Brighter jobs picture reflects strong state effort to improve economy the Governor said.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski Photo by: Tim King

(SALEM) - Governor Kulongoski Monday praised Oregon’s continuing job growth, which has propelled Oregon to the "top ten list" of states for job creation since the Governor took office in January 2003.

"For the past three and half years, I’ve worked to build an economy that is strong, competitive and fair," the Governor said. "Our efforts are paying off. We have a growing economy, and more Oregonians are working than ever before. I will continue my efforts to expand our economy, diversify our industries and boost the skills of our workforce. My goal is to ensure that everyone gets a chance to succeed and prosper."

The Governor also praised an upward trend in income for Oregonians since he took office in 2003. "Income is going up, and I want to reinforce that trend by generating good, family-wage jobs."

Monday’s September jobs report from the Oregon Employment Department shows a gain of 13,800 jobs, which is 3,900 jobs more than the "seasonally adjusted" number expected at this time of year.

Governor Kulongoski noted that Oregon continues to buck the national trend in manufacturing, which is the greatest source of family-wage jobs in Oregon’s economy. The jobs report shows a seasonal gain of 700 manufacturing jobs. As of August, the latest month for which national data are available, Oregon ranked sixth of the 50 states for job growth in manufacturing, and tenth for jobs overall, since January 2003.

The Employment Department’s report also showed that the unemployment rate declined from 5.5 percent to 5.4 percent. Since January 2003, the number of jobs in Oregon has increased by 8.5 percent, adding 134,900 new positions to Oregon’s economy.

"Our growing economy is no accident," the Governor said, citing Oregon’s $2.5-billion bonding program to upgrade roads and bridges, which the Governor shepherded through the legislature in 2003. A catalyst for more new jobs is the "Connect Oregon" program, which will shortly start making improvements to rail facilities, airports, ports and mass transit, the Governor said.

Also, by doubling the Oregon Opportunity Grants, the state will give more than 60,000 Oregonians the opportunity to go to college, community college or skills training. The Governor’s new plan to help middle-class families pay the cost of higher education—the "Shared Responsibility" program—will further improve the employment picture.

"These important investments support the growth and success of our high-performance industries, such as manufacturing and technology development, while creating more learning and earning potential for all our citizens and all our communities," the Governor said. "We’ve made a strong effort to stimulate international trade, and we now have the highest level of exports in our state’s history."

Since taking office, the Governor has also aggressively recruited new companies to relocate in Oregon, with positive results. Amy’s Kitchen, the organic frozen food processor, relocated to Medford and brought 200 new jobs to that community. Lowe’s, the home-improvement giant, opened a distribution center in Lebanon, while Google, Yahoo, Royal Caribbean and Wachovia all opened new facilities in Oregon. Other new openings will take place over the coming year, including Genentech’s large new finishing facility in Hillsboro.

The Governor has also moved forward in making industrial sites ready for development, providing attractive opportunities for new businesses and industries to relocate, while helping existing ones expand.

"This year, we’ll reach our goal of 50 new sites -- which we expect will generate 1,200 new jobs and more than $250 million in new investment in Oregon," the Governor said. "But we need many more of these project-ready sites, and we need them quickly. We’ll work hard to answer that critical need."

All these efforts have contributed to Oregon’s overall prosperity, the Governor said. "All these initiatives create new opportunities for our children. All create jobs that enable people to buy food, clothing, fuel, houses and countless other products."