Over 140 private and public sector leaders attended a regional jobs summit put on by the Portland Business Alliance last Friday. The meeting was a follow on to the
Oregon Business Plan Summit and the
Economic Study released by PBA in December. That study documented a trend of declining incomes and poor job growth compared to similar metro regions across the US.
Leaders "called the question" about whether or not the Portland area, particularly Portland and Multnomah County, really wants to focus on more high paying jobs as a top priority. The consensus among the group was overwhelmingly, "yes."
Leaders then broke off into teams ranging from land use to education to tax policy to outline priorities and next steps (both short and long term) for the regions private and public sector leaders to partner on.
PBA will be posting the results and next steps from the meeting on the website
www.valueofjobs.com. Currently, you can find lots of great information on studies on the Portland regional economy.