Monday, November 18, 2013

Oregon Drops from Middle of States to Bottom Third in Per Capita Income

The University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research has compiled statistics on per capita personal income by state from 1990 through 2012.


Below is a chart of Oregon's fall from 26th in 1990, rise to 22nd from 1995 to 1997, and drop to 33rd in 2011 and 2012. That means Oregon has dropped from a middle of the pack state to a bottom third state in per capita personal income.

source: University of New Mexico, Bureau of Business and Economic Research (http://bber.unm.edu/econ/us-pci.htm)

Washington is the only one of Oregon's neighbors to better its ranking rising from 16th in 1990 to 12th in 2012.  California dropped four positions from 8th in 1990 to 15th in 2012.  Both Idaho and Oregon dropped seven positions.  Idaho went from 42nd in 1990 to 49th in 2012.

Biggest drop is between 2007 and 2008, but the decline has continued through 2012.

Interesting that Governor John Kitzhaber (Dem.) has presided over the best years (1995-1997) and the worst years (2011-2012).  Governor Ted Kulongoski (Dem.) was governor when the big drop occurred between 2007 and 2008.

5 comments:

MAX Redline said...

That's obviously incorrect. Ask any Porkland politician; jobs are pouring in. Why, just a week or so ago, I was reading about a San Francisco company that's moving their corporate headquarters to edgy, vibrant Porkland - and bringing...um...five jobs with them.

Meanwhile, Integra Telecom's in the process of moving their corporate headquarters to...Vancouver, and taking 500 Porkland jobs with them.

Oh, wait. Maybe the data aren't flawed, after all.

OregonGuy said...

"Oregon’s seasonally adjusted labor force participation rate continued to decline in October, reaching 61.2 percent. This was a new record low for this series, which started in January 1976. This measure of the health of the labor market tracks the number of employed plus the unemployed as a share of Oregon’s working age population. At the national level, the participation rate has also declined in recent years, and is a measure being watched carefully by Federal Reserve policy makers as they gauge the extent to which the economy is operating at full employment."

Hope. Change.
.

T. D. said...

Well, guys, the Oregonian is reporting that things are looking up.

http://www.oregonlive.com/money/index.ssf/2013/11/oregon_unemployment_falls_for_2_straight_months_as_economic_recovery_continues_this_fall.html

Though the article ends with your data, OG, on the fewest number of Oregon adults participating in the work force since 1976, there's no attempt to square the [good news] lower unemployment rate with the [bad news] lowest percentage of adults participating in the workforce in 35+ years.

Max, +5, -500? A 100 to 1 reversal. You're not going to nitpick are you?

MAX Redline said...

I try not to, TD, but facts is facts. I don't recall the Zero picking up on the Integra Telecom move until pretty late in the game, and they didn't have much to say about it. By contrast, they made a big deal (reprinted a press release, basically) about the SF corporate headquarters moving here...but failed to note the whopping number of jobs that they're bringing.

T. D. said...

Heh. Scooping the Oregonian again.