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We have survived the dog days of summer, and the tomatoes are ripe on the vine. This month we’re offering up a surf and turf special; high-tech; advantage of continued education; good news about the Portland economy; and much more for your reading and informative pleasure.

Surf - Many of us enjoy seafood from our local grocer’s fish counter on a regular basis. That seafood does not get there by magic, it took the combined efforts of several people to get it there. Erik Knoder tells us who, in his article, "In Cod (and Crab!) We Trust – Oregon’s Seafood Processing Industry."

Turf – So who prepares all that neatly packaged protein in our grocer’s meat and seafood department? "Cuts Like a Knife: Slicing into the Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters, and Trimmers Occupation" by Shawna Sykes gives us a look inside this skilled occupation. .

High-Tech – Hard to define and very important to Oregon’s economy. Jill Cuyler-Crook brings us up to date on this sector in her interesting article, "Oregon’s High-Tech Employment Trends – What is High Tech?"

Continuing Education – What is one way to increase your job competitiveness without breaking the bank completely? Martin Kraal has the answer to this question and more in "An Associate’s Degree: Expanding Occupational Opportunities."

The much more:

David Cooke provides our monthly look at the ups and downs in Oregon’s employment economy in his article, "Oregon Added Jobs for the Tenth Straight Month in July."

Kim Thompson explains where our wage information comes from and how it might be used in her article, "Setting Competitive Wages in Oregon."

Last year all but one industry experienced growth in the number of jobs. Can you guess which industry? Barbara Peniston provides the answer and a whole lot more in her article, "Oregon Jobs in 2012: A Wage Data Perspective."

Need some more good news? Read "Oregon’s Weekly Earnings Rise During the Economic Recovery" by David Cooke.

How do Oregon’s Metropolitan Statistical Area’s unemployment rates compare nationally? The prolific Martin Kraal provides the response in his short article, "Unemployment Rate Rankings in Metropolitan Areas."

During the month of September, we'll highlight some of these fabulous articles here on the blog. Don't worry if you don't have time to digest them all; we'll package them down into snack-size stories for you. Stay tuned!