Oregon Economic Development

Oregon State Senator Jeff Merkley talk about the drivers of Oregon’s economy and what the Beaver State can do to improve upon its strengths.

Although at the cutting edge of the sustainability discourse and considered one of the hippest places to relocate, Oregon looked more like an underdeveloped, semi-peripheral country than the beacon of New West prosperity.

The state of Oregon and four of Oregon’s largest private economic development organizations have signed a landmark agreement to improve business development coordination and align efforts to grow Oregon’s economy.

"To compete, Oregon needs a team approach to economic development that engages both the private and public sectors," said Sean Robbins, director of Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. "This partnership extends our business development reach and leverages taxpayers’ dollars further. Oregonians will be better off because of it."

In an effort to improve regional competitiveness, GPI has made many tactical updates to the site.

With the thorny tax issue settled, Amazon has said it may build as many as 11 new data centers in Morrow County, potentially creating hundreds of new jobs in a small corner of northeastern Oregon.

Digital technologies are rapidly transforming every sector of our society. For Oregon to thrive and succeed in this competitive, global, ever-changing environment, we must lay the groundwork for a deep-rooted culture of innovation.

While Oregon has a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, the state has struggled to develop big, homegrown companies.

The project aims to create a pipeline of skilled workers from Oregon universities to go to work in cyber security, support research in the field and build cyber awareness at businesses – and even in elementary and high schools.

Google plans to decide by the end of the year whether to proceed with service in Portland and five suburbs (Gresham, Tigard, Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Hillsboro.)

Kitzhaber said, a generation of Oregonians face the prospect of lower living standards and shorter lifespans than their parents.