A11
B USINESS
THE BULLETIN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021
BRIEFING
Record rise in U.S.
wholesale prices
Wholesale prices,
driven by rising food
costs, increased 0.8% in
May and by an unprec-
edented amount over
the past year as the U.S.
economy emerges from
pandemic lockdowns and
pushes inflation higher.
The monthly gain in
the producer price index,
which measures inflation
pressure before it reaches
consumers, followed a
0.6% increase in April and
a 1% jump in March, the
Labor Department re-
ported Tuesday.
Food prices jumped a
sizable 2.6% with the cost
of beef and veal rising,
though the cost of fresh
fruits declined. Energy
costs rose 2.2%, reversing
a 2.4% drop in April.
Over the past 12
months, wholesale prices
are up 6.6%, the largest
12-month increase on re-
cords going back to 2010.
bendbulletin.com/business
Oregon job search requirements
OREGON EMPLOYMENT DATA
Growth remains slow;
6,900 jobs added in May
Some sectors are nearing pre-pandemic levels
BY MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
Oregon added jobs at a mod-
est pace in May and the employ-
ment rate remained at 5.9%,
unchanged from April’s revised
tally.
The state added 6,900 jobs in
May, according to data out Tues-
day from the Oregon Employ-
ment Department, compared to
an average of 11,400 jobs over
the prior four months. Oregon
has now recovered 62% of the
jobs lost in the first month of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The state’s jobless rate is
roughly even with the national
rate, which was 5.8% last month.
Hotels, restaurants and bars are
responsible for 43% of all Oregon
jobs lost to the pandemic. And
while relaxed health restrictions
have allowed most to reopen, em-
ployment in the leisure and hos-
pitality sector is picking up slowly.
Those industries added
just 1,600 jobs in the past two
months, the employment de-
partment said, and have 46,700
fewer jobs than it did before the
pandemic.
See Jobs / A12
Oregonians receiving regular unemployment benefits must start
looking for jobs by July 31 to keep receiving their weekly payments,
the state said Monday, reinstating a requirement that had been on
hold during the pandemic.
The Oregon Employment Department laid out the timetable for
people to resume their work search:
• An initial batch of 35,000 workers are receiving notices indicat-
ing they must register with the state’s iMatchSkills program, which
matches their qualifications with current job openings on file with
the state. The employment department says 220,000 claimants will
have to register, so the state is breaking that total into groups and
phasing in the registration period over five weeks.
• On July 6, the employment department says its WorkSource of-
fices will reopen by appointment to help workers find a job. The de-
partment will launch an online scheduling tool or workers may call
their local office to book an appointment.
• By July 31, people receiving regular jobless benefits must demon-
strate they’re looking for work in each week they claim benefits.
• Self-employed workers and contractors receiving benefits
through the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program
don’t have to register yet, and there’s no deadline for them to start
their work search. The state says it will set a timeline for them soon.
State Senate
will vote on
scaling back
business
tax break
Americans spend
less; retail sales fall
Retail sales fell in May,
dragged down by a de-
cline in auto sales and
a shift by Americans to
spend more on vacations
and other services in-
stead of goods.
Total sales dropped a
seasonally adjusted 1.3%
in May from the month
before, the U.S. Com-
merce Department said
Tuesday. Wall Street ana-
lysts expected a smaller
decline of 0.5%.
Economists predicted
retail sales to drop in May
because of the lack of cars
available for sale due to
a worldwide shortage of
chips, which are needed
to power in-car screens
and other features. Sales
at auto dealerships fell
3.7% last month, the gov-
ernment said.
Another reason for the
decrease: As more Amer-
icans are vaccinated, they
are spending more of
their money on haircuts,
trips and other services
that are not included in
Tuesday’s report.
Judge blocks pause
on oil, gas leases
The Biden administra-
tion’s suspension of new
oil and gas leases on fed-
eral land and water was
blocked Tuesday by a fed-
eral judge in Louisiana,
who ordered that plans
continue for lease sales
that were delayed for the
Gulf of Mexico and Alaska
waters “and all eligible
onshore properties.”
U.S. District Judge Terry
Doughty’s ruling came in
a lawsuit filed in March by
Louisiana’s Republican at-
torney general, Jeff Landry
and officials in 12 other
states. Doughty said his
ruling applies nationwide.
The Interior Depart-
ment had canceled oil and
gas lease sales from public
lands through June.
BY HILLARY BORRUD
The Oregonian
People take photos at
Universal Studios on Tuesday,
the day California lifted most
of its COVID-19 restrictions
for its “grand reopening.”
CALIFORNIA
COMEBACK
First state to lock down for COVID-19 fully reopens for summer tourism
BY JOCELYN GECKER AND STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press
S
AN FRANCISCO — California, the first state in
America to put in place a coronavirus lockdown,
has turned a page on the pandemic.
The nation’s most populated state lifted most of
its restrictions Tuesday, meaning no more state rules on
social distancing or capacity limits at restaurants, bars, su-
permarkets, gyms, stadiums or anywhere else.
And masks — one of the most fraught symbols of the
pandemic — are no longer mandated for vaccinated peo-
ple in most settings, though businesses and counties can
still require them.
Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated the milestone by host-
ing a lottery-style selection of 10 winners who will get
$1.5 million each simply for being vaccinated. It was
the grand finale to the nation’s largest vaccine incentive
— $116 million in COVID-19 lottery jackpots and cash
card giveaways. Oregon and other states have their own
vaccine lotteries.
“Finally we are here, June 15th, to turn the page,” New-
som declared from a stage at Universal Studios Holly-
wood .
See California / A12
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP photos
California Gov. Gavin Newsom mingles with movie characters
at his news conference at Universal Studios in Universal City,
California. As of Tuesday, there are no more state rules on so-
cial distancing, and no more limits on capacity at restaurants,
bars, supermarkets, gyms, stadiums or anywhere else.
See Tax break / A12
— Bulletin wire reports
Dutch Bros files for IPO
Grants Pass-based coffee chain
has nearly 470 stores in 11 states
BY MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian
Dutch Bros, the drive-thru chain of coffee
stands based in Grants Pass, says it has filed
for an initial public offering after years of rapid
growth. It could be Oregon’s first major IPO
since 2004.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported
last month that the chain hoped a prospective
stock offering would give it a $3 billion market
value. That could make it the biggest IPO in Or-
egon history.
Founded in 1992, Dutch Bros now operates
Oregon lawmakers
in the Democratic-con-
trolled Senate are set to
vote as soon as this week
on a proposal to trim a
controversial business tax
break that allows quali-
fying business owners to
pay much lower tax rates
than wage earners.
With less than two
weeks left in the legis-
lative session, the plan
emerged from a seem-
ingly unlikely collabora-
tion between Sen. Ginny
Burdick, D-Portland,
and Sen. Brian Boquist, a
former Republican from
Dallas who is now a
member of the Indepen-
dent Party of Oregon.
In 2017, House Demo-
crats passed a bill to pare
back the tax break after
state tax data showed it
benefitted lawyers and
doctors — “suits and
scrubs,” Democrats com-
plained — rather than
the manufacturers and
exporters touted as bene-
ficiaries when lawmakers
approved the provision in
2013. The 2017 bill died
in the Senate, and qualify-
ing taxpayers continue to
use the break to cut their
taxes by approximately
$100 million a year .
Boquist said in an in-
terview Monday after-
noon that it’s not sur-
prising he and Burdick
worked together to scale
back the tax break for
pass-through businesses,
because eight years ago
they were both part of
the small group of law-
makers who worked
with then-Gov. John
Kitzhaber, a Democrat,
to craft the tax cut.
nearly 470 stores in 11 states, stretching from Se-
attle to San Antonio, where the franchise chain
is in the process of opening its newest location. It
employs about 13,000 altogether.
Dutch Bros reported in 2018 that it had sold
an unspecified stake in the business to a private
equity firm, TSG Consumer Products. At the
time, Dutch Bros said it hoped to use “TSG’s ex-
pertise and resources” to grow to 800 locations
in five years.
Grants Pass natives Travis and Dane
Boersma founded the business together af-
ter growing up on a family dairy farm. Dane
Boersma was diagnosed with amyotrophic lat-
eral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2005 and
died in 2009.
See Dutch Bros / A12
EVICTION MORATORIUM ENDING
How to get rent help in Oregon
BY JAMIE GOLDBERG
The Oregonian
The state’s eviction morato-
rium, which has been in place
since early in the pandemic, is
set to expire at the end of this
month.
Oregon tenants who have
struggled to pay rent during
the coronavirus pandemic can
apply for assistance directly
through the state.
The state will distribute
$204 million in federal money
to Oregon renters through
its new Oregon Emergency
Rental Assistance Program.
The program will serve rent-
ers who have incomes less
than 80% of the area median
income, have experienced fi-
nancial hardship due to the
pandemic and are in danger
of experiencing homelessness
or housing instability.
Eligible tenants can visit
oregonrentalassistance.org to
apply.
Tenants can apply for assis-
tance to cover past due rent
and utility bills dating back
to March 13, 2020. Renters
can also request assistance to
cover three months of future
rent.
The application requires
tenants to submit information
verifying their identity, in-
come, residence and the cost
of their rent and utility bills.
In most cases, the assis-
tance will be paid directly to a
renter’s landlord to bring the
tenant current on rent.
See Rent / A12