PORTLAND REGION ECONOMIC OUTCOMES

The 2018 data shows positive trends indicating greater economic equality. However, as expected, the Portland region’s rapid growth in recent years is starting to plateau as we approach a record-long period of economic expansion.

Despite the region’s slowing growth, employment and population continue to grow at a faster rate than the national average. In fact, both employment and population in the Portland region have grown by 27 percent since 2000. Where the region falls short is its housing supply. The gap between employment and population growth in the region, and the change in supply of housing units continues to be a challenge. See Figure 1. Producing fewer units of housing than the region’s population growth has put pressure on prices and prolonged the housing affordability crisis.

A key measurement that points to the slowing of our economy is the change in employment growth since 2010. The Portland region’s annual employment growth has exceeded the national average every year since 2011 and hit peak growth in 2015 at 3.34 percent. In 2018, the rate of growth slowed to 2.3 percent. See Figure 2. As we reach the end of this economic expansion, tracking the rate of employment growth compared to population growth will be key to maintaining an economically thriving region

While construction was the fastest-growing industry, its growth slowed to 7 percent in 2018, compared to the 11.5 percent growth experienced in 2017. Despite this trend, the industry still remained above the 4 percent growth experienced at the national level. See Figure 3. The Portland region’s largest industry, education and health services, saw a 4 percent uptick to nearly 183,000 jobs in 2018. See Figure 4.

As was the case in 2017, MHI by race and ethnicity show continued gains. See Figure 5. In fact, all groups earned more in 2017 than in 2010. However, disparities remain as prosperity is not shared equally.

Though the population size is too small to accurately track annually, a five year average shows American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander MHI is well behind White households at $55,844. Coupled with the rising cost of living, these disparities increase the likelihood of geographic and economic displacement among the region’s communities of color unless this inequality is addressed.