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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015
Oregon unemployment
falls to prerecession levels
The Daily Astorian
Oregon’s unemployment
rate declined to 5.2 percent in
April, the lowest mark since
July 2007, according to the
Oregon Employment Depart-
ment.
The state’s unemployment
rate was 5.4 percent in March.
Unemployment is now
back to pre-recession levels.
The rate had held steady be-
tween 5.0 and 5.5 percent
from 2006 to early 2008.
Oregon’s payroll employ-
ment grew rapidly, adding
7,600 jobs in April, following
revised gains of 2,600 jobs in
February and 2,700 jobs in
March. April’s gain was on
track with the rapid growth
seen from September through
January, when growth aver-
aged 6,200 jobs a month.
The rapid job growth is
consistent with Oregon’s per-
formance prior to the reces-
sion. Jobs expanded by 3.2
percent between April 2014
and this April, a similar pace as
seen during mid-2004 through
2006, when Oregon’s annual
gains averaged 3 percent.
In April, four major in-
dustries grew rapidly over the
month and over the year, with
each adding between 1,000
and 2,900 jobs in April, and
each growing by close to 5
percent since April 2014.
• Health care and social
assistance increased by 11,200
jobs over the year. The sector
was boosted by all four of its
component industries, but its
social assistance component
grew at the fastest rate, adding
3,000 jobs.
• Manufacturing increased
by 9,800 jobs over the year. The
sector was led by semiconduc-
tor and electronic component
manufacturing, transportation
equipment manufacturing, and
food manufacturing, with each
adding close to 1,500 jobs.
• Professional and busi-
ness services grew by 9,700
jobs over the year. The sector
was led by computer systems
design, management of com-
panies, and administrative and
waste services, which each
adding about 1,600 jobs.
• Leisure and hospitality
grew by 9,100 jobs over the
year. The sector was boosted
by rising demand at restau-
rants, which led to food ser-
vice and drinking places add-
ing 6,900 jobs.
For more information,
visit the Oregon Employment
Department’s website at www.
QualityInfo.org. For help
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sources, visit one of the state’s
WorkSource Oregon Centers
— 450 Marine Drive in As-
toria — or visit www.Work-
SourceOregon.org.
Brenda McNaughton joins
Coastal Family Health
The Daily Astorian
Brenda McNaughton, a family nurse prac-
titioner, has joined the provider staff at Coastal
Family Health Center.
She comes to Coastal Family from Sunrise
Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, where she
worked for the past 16 years as a pediatric and
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Brenda
McNaughton received her master’s degree
McNaughton
as a family nurse practitioner from Georgetown
University in 2014. She has been recognized
by the March of Dimes and the American Association of Critical Care
Nurses for her outstanding work in pediatric intensive care.
Passionate about meeting the healthcare needs of at-risk and un-
derserved communities, with a particular interest in pediatric health,
McNaughton is excited to become a part of Astoria’s community as a
primary care provider.
Seaview brewery ramps up production
By MIKE WILLIAMS
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SEAVIEW, Wash. — North
Jetty Brewing christened its
new 10-barrel brewing system
in April, tripling its capacity at
least two years ahead of sched-
ule.
Erik and Michelle Svendsen
bought the brewery in Decem-
ber 2013. It had a 1 ½-barrel sys-
tem then. A barrel is 31 gallons.
The Svendsens would brew two
batches back-to-back to make
about six kegs of beer. The new
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“So a single batch will give
us about 18 to 20 kegs,” Erik
Svendsen said. “It’s less work
for a lot more product.”
MIKE WILLIAMS — EO Media Group
Erik Svendsen shows off one of his new fermenters.
Growing fast
North Jetty produced about
165 barrels of beer in 2014. This
year, the brewery expects to hit
750 barrels with the new system
coming online in the second
quarter. It will give the Svends-
ens the capacity of about 1,000
barrels in a full year.
Demand for North Jetty
beer forced the couple to move
their timetable up a few years.
Their product is distributed by
Kendall’s Pioneer Distributing
in southwest Washington as far
north as Olympia. Fort George
Brewery & Public House dis-
tributes North Jetty in Clatsop
and Tillamook counties. Their
beer is also sold on the Long
Beach Peninsula.
“Trying to keep up with
all that and the taproom, it just
makes sense,” Erik Svendsen
said. “We weren’t expecting to
expand this fast; we had more
like a two- to three-year plan,
but the demand was there and
we were sort of beating our-
selves up with the little system.”
The success of the business
has meant changes all around.
Michelle Svendsen owned Tidy
By The Sea, a cleaning business,
for four years. She planned to
keep it operating, but the tap-
room and brewery began de-
manding more and more time.
An employee bought the van
and took on her cleaning clients.
“This just takes so much of
my time because I do the sales,
the marketing, all the social me-
dia, brew a couple times a week
and run the taproom,” she said.
“So a cleaning company on top
MIKE WILLIAMS — EO Media Group
Michelle Svendsen (above) and her husband, Erik, ex-
panded to a 10-barrel brewing system at their company,
North Jetty Brewing in Seaview, Wash.
of that was just too much.”
It’s also meant changes in-
side the Seaview facility. When
the taproom opened in April
2014, the company employed
one part-time worker. Now the
taproom has four part-timers,
and the Svendsens may hire an-
other for the brewery operation.
The taproom opened with
just eight taps; that has increased
to 18 with room for guest beers.
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tourism-heavy area kept the en-
tire operation hopping.
“Last summer we sold more
than half of all the beer we pro-
duced in 2014,” Erik Svendsen
said.
While tourism helped
drive growth, local demand
has helped sustain North Jetty
through the lean off-season. The
taproom’s regulars have provid-
ed moral and logistical support,
the Svendsens said. Some of-
fered to help move equipment,
and more importantly, they have
kept coming back for more beer.
“They got us through the
winter,” Michelle Svendsen
said. “We expected to see a
huge drop in beer sales, but the
taproom and brewery paid for
themselves. It was fantastic. The
community’s been really sup-
portive.”
Supportive
competitors
Local breweries have also
been supportive. They offered
advice on equipment, and
helped out with supplies if
they have them available.
The Svendsens see poten-
tial for more growth. They
may add even more fermen-
ters, the tanks that hold the
beer-to-be while the yeast
does its magic. Space in the
former dairy building is the
main limitation to further
growth.
Fortunately there is room
to expand on their lot.
For now, the Svendsens
are just happy to have the new
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coasting through the inven-
tory from when they stopped
brewing in February. They
have a lot of events on the
horizon in addition to supply-
ing the taproom and custom-
ers in the region.
They were the concession-
aire for the beer garden at the
Long Beach Razor Clam Fes-
tival in April.
The couple also plan to at-
tend the Washington Brewers
Festival in June, the Olympia
Brew Fest in August, the Van-
couver Summer Brew Fest in
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west Brew Cup in Astoria.
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