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THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 A11 A11 B USINESS THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 q DOW 33,970.47 -614.41 q bendbulletin.com/business q NASDAQ 14,713.90 -330.07 S&P 500 4,357.73 -75.26 q q 30-YR T-BOND 1.85% -.06 p CRUDE OIL $70.29 -1.68 GOLD $1,761.80 +12.40 q SILVER $22.16 -.14 q EURO $1.1724 -.0006 BRIEFING COVID-19 Investigation opens into Takata airbags U.S. easing inbound foreign flight restrictions The U.S. government’s highway safety regulator has opened an investi- gation into a potential problem that surfaced last year with 56 million Takata airbags but that the agency eventually deemed safe based on in- dustry research. The National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration has not posted an official document on the investigation yet, but said that it wasn’t aware of any injuries or fatalities due to the problem and that the public “does not need to take any action.” The agency said Mon- day its investigation will try to determine if there’s a defect in nonrecalled frontal and passenger in- flators manufactured by Takata, adding that “no present safety risk has been identified.” More than 25 people were killed and more than 300 were injured by metal flying from the air- bags, setting off a series of the largest automo- tive recalls in U.S. history. About 50 million inflators were recalled in the U.S. and another 100 million worldwide. State sets max rent increase at 9.9% Most Oregon land- lords will be allowed to increase rent by a max- imum of 9.9% in 2022, state economists an- nounced on Monday. The state calculates the highest allowable rent increase for the next calendar year each Sep- tember. The maximum rent increase for 2021 was 9.2%. The Legislature in 2019 imposed a statewide rent control policy, making Or- egon the first state in the nation to do so. The law capped rent hikes at 7% plus inflation during any 12-month period. The rent increase only applies to homes that were built 15 years ago or more. Newer homes are exempt, a carve-out intended to keep the rule from discouraging the construction of new rentals. Hospitals in need of staff in Washington Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has asked the federal government for assistance staffing hospi- tals and long-term care facilities in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “In Washington State, our hospitals are currently at or beyond capacity, and we need additional assistance at this time,” Inslee wrote in Friday’s letter — released pub- licly Monday — to Jeffrey Zients, the White House COVID-19 coordinator. Inslee wrote that the state Department of Health has requested 1,200 clinical and nonclin- ical staff, and that he was requesting deployment of Department of De- fense medical personnel “to assist with the current hospital crisis.” Inslee spokesman Mike Faulk said the state had not yet received a re- sponse. Meanwhile on Mon- day state hospital leaders said COVID-19 hospital- izations are ticking down across Washington. The Seattle Times re- ports this week hospitals counted 1,504 COVID-19 patients throughout the state, compared to 1,673 last week. — Bulletin wire reports BY ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON — In a major easing of pandemic travel restrictions, the U.S. said Monday it will allow foreigners to fly into the country this fall if they have vac- cination proof and a negative COVID-19 test — changes replacing a hodgepodge of rules that had kept out many noncit- izens and irritated allies in Europe and beyond where virus cases are lower. The changes, to take effect in No- vember, will allow families and others who have been separated by the travel restrictions for 18 months to plan for long-awaited reunifications and allow foreigners with work permits to get back to their jobs in the U.S. Airlines, business groups and travel- ers cheered — though also calling the step long overdue. See Travel / A13 Pfizer says vaccine works in kids 5 to 11 Associated Press Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authoriza- tion for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters. The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children. See Pfizer / A13 Oregon’s labor crunch is a supply and demand problem BY MIKE ROGOWAY The Oregonian grape escape Grape stomping, also called “treading.” Christine Clair, winery director at Willamette Valley Vineyards, puts Muscat wine grapes into a vat. Then she holds onto an employee acting as her “swabbie” for support while she treads on grapes. Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press Stomping contest highlights an old-world tradition that’s still alive: ‘It’s a heck of a workout’ T BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press TURNER — Christine Clair stomped zealously on clusters of green Muscat wine grapes in a vat, trying not to fall in the cold, slippery fruit. Juice dripped down her ankles. “It’s a heck of a workout,” said Clair. She laughed. Clair, winery director at Willamette Valley Vineyards, was gearing up for the Annual Oregon Grape Stomp Championship and Harvest Cele- bration. The event, which drew more than 1,500 people in 2019, was canceled in 2020. Now, with social distancing, the stomp returned for its 30th anniversary Saturday and Sunday. “It’s exciting to bring it back,” said Clair. Contestants competed in pairs, the “stomper” crushed grapes under foot while the “swabbie” guided the juice into a jug. The pair to make the most juice the fastest won a $500 gift card and an overnight stay in a Winery Suite. Many contestants each year dress in costume, including dozens of Lucy and Ethel pairs, a nod to Italian grape stomping in an iconic “I Love Lucy” episode. In past years, stompers from Willamette Valley Vineyards have represented Oregon in the World Grape Stomp Championship. For Willamette Valley Vineyards, the contest is purely for fun. None of these foot-treaded grapes from the contest will ever be made into wine be- cause they’ve been exposed to open air and a large number of people. But stomping, or “treading,” as part of real winemaking is not just ancient history. Willamette Valley Vineyards uses modern equipment to crush the vast majority of its wine grapes, as do most U.S. wineries. See Stomping / A13 Oregon businesses have been struggling to find workers all year — especially in the health care and hospitality fields, which have been among the most tumul- tuous sectors throughout the pandemic. There are many rea- sons for the state’s labor squeeze: Some work- ers are staying home to care for the kids; some don’t want to work be- cause they fear exposure to COVID-19; others don’t feel they need to work after pocketing last year’s stimulus money; some were still collect- ing expanded jobless benefits. Above all, though, there’s a simple mis- match between supply and demand. Oregon’s job openings have been soaring even as the num- ber of people looking for jobs has fallen. That means that Or- egon’s job market is tighter now than it was in the winter of 2020, before the pandemic hit, when the jobless rate was near an all-time low. The state’s employers had nearly 98,000 open- ings last spring, accord- ing to a quarterly survey by the Oregon Em- ployment Department. That’s nearly double the number of openings just three months earlier and the highest tally, by far, in the eight years the de- partment has been con- ducting the survey. Oregon’s jobless rate was in steep decline during the same period, from 10.3% in June 2020 to 5.6% this past June. That’s easy math: The number of job vacancies nearly doubled while the jobless rate fell by nearly half. You can see why hiring might be a chal- lenge. Here’s another way to look at it. Last spring, Oregon had 1.3 unem- ployed people for every open job. That’s an extremely tight labor market by historical standards. Over the prior eight years, a stretch that in- cluded some of Oregon’s strongest job growth on record, the average was 2.6 unemployed people per open job. The national job mar- ket was even tighter — just one unemployed worker per open job. Complicating matters, Oregon’s job openings aren’t distributed equally. See Jobs / A13
