Central Oregon Business Index shows uneven economic improvement

The Business Index for Central Oregon comes out quarterly, and the most recent edition (for the 3rd quarter of 2010) started off with a technical explanation about methodological changes to the index... just the kind of thing that fascinates a nerd like me! But since it probably doesn't hold the same appeal for the general populace, I'll start by sharing the results, and advise you to review the full analysis to learn about the changes.

The index declined from the second quarter of 2010 to the third quarter, but it was up from the third quarter of 2009. The index suggests that "the regional economy is generally improving" although the pace of recovery has been uneven.

Diverse changes were seen among the specific measures in the index. Economic weakness was indicated by an increase in unemployment claims, decrease in nonfarm employment, and continued "softness" in the housing market. There were good signs in tourism and travel-related activity, with growth in lodging revenues and airport activity.

This information comes from the Department of Economics at the University of Oregon. More information is available in the full analysis.