High Employment Rates and Massive Income Growth: Oregon State Economist Josh Lehner's Reasons to be Thankful

In the spirit of the season, Oregon State Economist Josh Lehner shared several data points that demonstrate reasons for Oregon residents to give thanks this year, including:

• Employment rates by educational attainment in Oregon are higher today than they were pre-pandemic and are the highest seen since before the Great Recession or the dotcom bust. 
  
  
  

  

  via OregonEconomicAnalysis.com

  
  
• According to just-released 2021 county and metro income data, personal income growth in Oregon’s metros has outpaced the rest of the nation. Grants Pass, Bend, Salem, Albany, and Medford were all among the U.S. metros that saw the 10% strongest increases in income.

via OregonEconomicAnalysis.com

• New data through the second quarter from both the Federal Reserve and the JP Morgan Chase Institute show that low- and moderate-income households are still doing well financially. Checking account balances remain strong and show no deterioration across the distribution. 

Visit OregonEconomicAnalysis.com for the full post.