Last week at the Oregon Leadership Summit in Portland, local leaders in both the private and public sector discussed how to address the state’s slow recovery in rural areas. In a piece by The Oregonian, local leaders considered a range of strategies “from unlocking timber to expanding the growing market for drones.” Presently, Oregon’s economic recovery is dependent on urban Portland, which has not only regained its job base, but has also expanded it. As a result, young people are leaving Oregon’s rural areas for urban centers like Portland.
According to the Oregonian:
Rural incomes also are on a dismal trend line. Per capita income in rural Oregon was above the U.S. average in the 1970s, but now only comes to to three-fourths of the national figure, said John Carter, chairman of Schnitzer Steel and the Oregon Business Plan, which backed Tuesday’s summit.
Also on discussed was the development of industrial land and helping already existing rural businesses as ways of jump-starting Oregon’s rural economy.
Oregon Live – The Oregonian | Rural Oregon economic struggles gain increasing attention statewide