Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

State Of The Economy 2015, Portland State University. Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The first comprehensive report from Greater Portland Pulse was entitled The Path to Economic Prosperity: Equity and the Education Imperative. Published in July 2011, that report summarized the findings from the initial benchmarking of desired outcomes articulated by stakeholders and tracked on Greater Portland Pulse. The purpose of this briefing is to update some of the findings from the July 2011 report.

Promising Practices For Long-Term Community Engagement, Meg Merrick, Andrée Tremoulet, Tina Dippert

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

Washington County has initiated a planning process to rethink the structure and support system for its ongoing, long-term community participation program. The impetus for this planning process began with a fall 2014 announcement by the service provider that had supported the county’s Citizen Participation Organizations (CPOs) and the Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI) for several decades, Oregon State University Extension, that it would no longer continue this role effective fall 2015. The planning process has since evolved into an opportunity to take a thorough look at the program and plan a system of engagement for the 21st century.

Washington County …

Where The Ends Don't Meet In 2014: Measuring Poverty And Self-Sufficiency Among Oregon's Families, Elizabeth Morehead, Sheila A. Martin

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

This report sheds light on the economic realities facing many of Oregon’s households and provides an initial picture of the extent of income inadequacy in Oregon. Although addressing this issue is challenging, it can be seen as encouraging that many householders with below-Standard incomes are already part of the workforce. It is possible that many householders have adequate levels of education and experience but face other barriers that keep their wages low or raise their expenses. Identifying and addressing such barriers is the next step in bringing household incomes and costs into balance.

Greater Portland Pulse Use Cases: Examples Of How The Community Used Gpp January 2013-June 2015, Elizabeth Morehead

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

Greater Portland Pulse (GPP) data is a valuable community resource that helps academics, government, reporters, community organizations, and private businesses better understand the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metropolitan area. With GPP’s 2014 website redesign, and increased presence on social media, GPP’s audience is rapidly expanding. GPP data is often: Cited in research studies, proposals to city councils, and strategic plans. Used to advocate for social change Used by government agencies and private sector businesses to promote economic development

Who Is Making Ends Meet In The Portland Region? A Profile Of Poverty And Self-Sufficiency Among Greater Portland Families, Jamin Kimmell, Sheila A. Martin

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The Portland metro region economy is near a complete recovery from the damage of the Great Recession that began seven years ago. Unemployment in April of 2015 was 5.2 percent, cut in half from the 2011 rate of 10.5 percent. The region ranked among the top 10 metro region areas in the nation for employment growth in 2014.

Unfortunately, the benefits of this economic resurgence are not experienced equally. Ideally, economic recovery should lead to jobs and wages that enable Portland metro region families to earn enough to provide for their basic needs. Low unemployment cannot offer high quality of …

Global Portland:Trends From Greater Portland Pulse, Portland State University. Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

In this report, Global Portland measures Greater Portland’s ties to the rest of the world. The data we use to quantify these ties include the following: Exports, which tell us the extent to which Greater Portland’s businesses are selling goods and services to countries outside of the United States. Foreign direct investment, which quantifies the extent of economic activity in Greater Portland due to investors from other countries. Foreign visitors, which describes the number of people who visit Greater Portland from other countries and estimates the amount of money they spend while they are here; Foreign-born residents, quantifying the number …

Global Portland: Trends From Greater Portland Pulse, Sheila A. Martin, Portland State University. Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The report measures Greater Portland's ties to the rest of the world in terms of exports, foreign direct investment, foreign visitors, foreign-born residents, and foreign students.

Sorting Out The Skills Gap: Analyzing The Evidence For A Shortage Of Middle-Skill Workers In The Manufacturing And Healthcare Industries In The Portland Region, Jamin Kimmell, Sheila A. Martin

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The skills gap has garnered significant attention in popular discourse, research initiatives and public policy, both in the Portland region and across the country. Simultaneously, fewer and fewer people in the Portland region are earning self-sufficient incomes. The manufacturing and healthcare industries are often cited as promising pathways to self-sufficiency due to shortages of workers in middle-skill, middle-wage occupations. But the magnitude and distribution of worker shortages in these industries is far from certain, and alternative factors to explain hiring challenges—such as employer practices—are supported by some of the evidence. Existing skills gap research typically uses a single indicator of …

The Equity Baseline Report: A Framework For Regional Equity, Jared Franz, Cat Goughnour, Duncan Hwang, Kayse Jama, Meg Merrick, Andre Riley, Gerardo Vergara-Monroy

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The Equity Baseline Report: A Framework for Regional Equity is an authentic community-led report resulting from a yearlong collaborative effort conducted by six local community based organizations (CBOs). The organizations were selected competitively to work under contract with Metro staff to identify, inventory, classify and recommend quantitative and qualitative evidence-based indicators and corresponding data sets that measure the varying degrees by which people experience equity in our region.