Oregon Public Broadcasting

The University of Oregon's Index of Economic Indicators rose for the fifth consecutive month in December.

Tim Duy, of the school's department of economics, says it jumped a healthy 1.2 percent.

Tim Duy: "This is really another confirmation that the Oregon economy exited recession late last year and is really growing at a not inconsiderable pace. I would expect as we bounce off the bottom of a relatively deep recession, we're getting a nice little pick-up in some sectors of the economy."

Those include nonfarm payroll growing by 2900 people; a rise in residential building permits; and what Duy calls a steady reduction in the pace of layoffs.

The index stands at 86. At the depth of the recession it stood at 83. It's based on the benchmark of 100 that was set in 1997.