A Bright Economic Outlook
The Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 State of Business Program was held on Tuesday, October 12th and provided a comprehensive look at Oregon’s business landscape featuring Economist Josh Lehner of the State of Oregon. This program was the third installment, with the inaugural program occurring in 2019. Over 100 attendees tuned into Josh’s presentation on Oregon’s economic and workforce outlook heading into 2022, which was followed by a robust Q&A session on local impacts.
Liz Dahlager VP of Market Intelligence at Mereté Hotel Management, and chair of the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee, was the facilitator of this program. The Economic Development Committee’s priorities over the past year has been focused on business recovery through impacts from the pandemic, as well as identifying workforce as an area of opportunity to support.
During Josh Lehner’s presentation, he went over economic outlooks for employment, income, and housing for 2022. Josh commented that the near term outlook is still bright with notable growth. For a business cycle, this is the best we’ve seen in decades. Some notable topics mentioned were the structural demographics of the labor force, with a large influx of Gen Zs joining the workforce, as well as reduced migration here in Oregon. The age profile of potential workers will skew younger. He went on to discuss other trends, including a shift of spending back to services and restaurant spending, while healthcare spending is below trend, and the impact of supply constraints and the risks worth watching. Thank you Josh for your insightful presentation!
Thank you to our The State of Business Presenting Sponsor, PeaceHealth Oregon.
Thank you to Josh, PeaceHealth, Liz, and to everyone who tune in!
For the recording of the 2021 State of Business program, please contact dani@springfield-chamber.org for the link.
Follow Josh’s blog on Oregon Economic News, Analysis, and Outlook HERE
Presentation Slide Decks:
Lehner’s Presentation
PeaceHealth’s Presentation
