EUGENE BETTER
THAN OTHERS IN
GREAT RECESSION
In the “Great Recession,” Eugene is doing better than
the nation, the state or the county. Why?
Mayor Kitty Piercy noted in her State of the City
address last week that while local unemployment numbers
are still “way too high,” Eugene’s 10.5 percent rate is
slightly better than the nation at 10.8 percent, the state at
12.7 percent and the county at 12.8 percent.
The comparative employment advantage of Eugene over
the nation represents a big turnaround. A decade ago the
unemployment rate in Eugene was about a third higher than
the nation, although both numbers were about half of
today’s unemployment rates.
So why is Eugene now doing better than the nation at
providing jobs? Buried in a 200-page just-released audited
annual financial report on the city, a section analyzing the
local economy offers an explanation.
The report notes that government jobs and people
moving here, mostly from California, have historically
provided “the two pillars” that have kept Eugene’s economy
relatively stable. In the recession the in-migration that
helped Eugene diversify away from logging has slowed
significantly, but public sector jobs have grown.
From 2001 to 2009 government jobs increased 12
percent in Eugene, largely due to the UO, according to the
financial report. The UO has a record enrollment approaching
24,000, provides 4,000 local jobs and has an estimated
economic impact on the local economy of $1.97 billion.
While dwindling in-migration and the mortgage crisis
have cut jobs in building housing, government construction
has helped mitigate the unemployment impact. The report
lists recent UO projects including the $200 million Matt
Knight Arena completed a year ago, a $65 million science
building now under way and a $72 million new residence
hall scheduled for completion this fall.
The city of Eugene has also spurred construction
downtown by subsidizing projects including: a $55 million
LCC classroom and dorm building across from the library,
and three new office, retail and apartment buildings and
remodels at Broadway and Willamette, the report notes.
Additional employment has come from the growth of
Eugene as a regional healthcare provider with a 24 percent
increase in health jobs since 2001, the financial report said.
Also, railroad projects including plans by Union Pacific to
spend $34 million to improve the Eugene rail yard and rail
line to Oakridge provide even more jobs.
So what about all the local conservatives that bash
Eugene as bad for business? They’re wrong.
Ward Beck emailed the mayor last month blaming the
city for a GMAC call center leaving his building. Beck sold
the building on Country Club Road to the city for a new
police station. But he wrote, the city has a “very myopic
view that quality of life will always trump a business-
friendly environment.”
Jack Roberts, a former Republican candidate for
governor who now runs the job-recruiting Lane Metro
Partnership, emailed back disputing Beck’s claims. Roberts
noted that GMAC didn’t complain about the business
climate and said they were leaving for the Philippines for
cheaper labor, similar to other companies that have left the
area. “It has not been my experience that businesses who are
here are leaving because of the local business climate,”
Roberts wrote. — Alan Pittman
STATE OF THE CITY
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy delivered a sober assessment
of the State of the City last week in an address at the Hult
Center.
“I’d like to be here tonight telling you that things will
be much in better in 2012,” Piercy said. “But, in truth, the
uncertain financial forecast continues to impact every
government and every household. No matter what I read or
who I listen to, the news isn’t very good.”
“Economists tell us that by 2020, we still will not be
back to where we were before the recession,” Piercy said.
Eugene’s 10.5 percent unemployment rate is “slightly
better than the nation” but still “way too high,” she said.
But Piercy touted $43 million in road repairs “providing
495 well-paying jobs” and 450 jobs from $100 million in
new development in Eugene’s long-struggling downtown.
The downtown projects include the historic remodel of the
Centre Court building, the Woolworth building in the
former Aster pit, the new LCC downtown center and 200
units of student dorms in the former Sears pit, the Inn at
5th, the renovation of the Taco Time building “and more to
come,” Piercy said.
Piercy praised the police department for handling the
Occupy Eugene protests in a cooperative and compassionate
way that “prevented conflict and saved resources.”
Despite taxpayers struggling to make ends meet in the
recession, “It is likely we’ll be asking you to support
another road bond in the future,” Piercy said.
Piercy said the community benefits from a strong
transit system and noted the new bike and pedestrian
plan’s calls for increasing those modes. “There’s strong
interest in developing bike lanes that are completely
separated from traffic so that all riders can feel safer
moving around the community,” she said.
The mayor called for unity and optimism. “We must
step beyond the national political rancor, step beyond the
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Northwest Alternative Health is now serving the Greater Eugene Area
6 JANUARY 12, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
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