Oregon Public Broadcasting

State economists say that Oregon is in the midst of a long recession.  But they say the flip side is that the pain will be kept to a minimum. Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

It’s sort of a good news, bad news situation.  

State budget experts say Oregon won’t climb out of its current recession until late next year.  But the good news is that the overall effect won’t be as deep as in past recessions.  

State economist Tom Potiowsky says that’s because Oregon’s economy is less tied to the timber industry than it was in the past.  That makes the slowdown in the housing market less of a hit.

Tom Potiowsky:  “Lumber and wood products this time around is having a horrible time.  They’re really, really hurting. But in our relative sense of how it affects our different mix of our economy today, it’s not as a big a hit to us as it would have been back 30 years ago.”

Potiowsky spoke at a quarterly economic outlook meeting.  State economists say current trends should mean lawmakers will be able to squeak by without making any cuts to services.

Online:

Oregon Office of Economic Analysis