Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Lane County labor market near pre‑pandemic levels; housing costs strain affordability at lower end of market
Summary
County economist Brian Rooney told commissioners that Lane County has nearly recovered pandemic job losses but faces tight labor supply, low vacancy balance in some sectors, rising retirements and housing affordability pressures, particularly at the lower third of the market.
Brian Rooney, Lane County’s economic analyst, told the board that local employment has nearly returned to pre‑pandemic levels but that the recovery and future growth bring persistent challenges: a tight labor market, sectoral mismatches and affordability pressures.
Rooney said Lane County lost roughly 25,000 jobs (about 15 percent) in spring 2020 and has recovered about 25,300 jobs — about 98 percent of the loss — bringing the county close to its pre‑pandemic employment peak. "Lane County has almost reached pre pandemic employment levels," Rooney said.
He described a slow but positive one‑year employment growth (June 2023 to June 2024) of about 1,400 jobs, or 0.8 percent, with health services,…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
