About Oregon Business Insider, OBI’s Free Newsletter
Oregon Business Insider, a free monthly newsletter created by Oregon Business & Industry (OBI), appears on the first Wednesday of every month.
Oregon Business Insider is intended for anyone who’s interested in Oregon’s business environment. You do not need to be an OBI member to receive Oregon Business Insider.
Each edition includes information about noteworthy events, legal and regulatory updates, timely data and rankings, links to recent Oregon Business Matters podcast episodes, policy explainers and more.
Feel free to share this newsletter with people in your networks, who can subscribe by following the link below.
The Month that Was: Three Things that Happened
Each edition of Oregon Business Insider features three notable things that happened during the previous month and three things to expect in the coming month. Here’s what happened in April:
‘Best States’ ranking: Chief Executive magazine released its annual Best and Worst States for Business ranking, which is based on an annual survey of more than 650 CEOs, presidents and business owners from all 50 states. States that fare well in this ranking, notes Chief Executive, are those that focus “on the fundamentals – talent, infrastructure, tax and regulatory climate.” Oregon dropped two places this year to 46th, besting only Washington, Illinois, New York and California. To accompany the rankings, Chief Executive also released an analysis of this year’s results. Chief Executive’s rankings are among the dozens of indicators OBI tracks on the Oregon Scorecard.
Public school data: The National Education Association released its annual Ranking of the States and Estimates of School Statistics report, which provides state level data on public school spending. During the 2025-26 school year, Oregon will spend an estimated $18,381 per student, ranking 20th nationally and just below the national average expenditure of $18,870. Oregon’s estimated average public school teacher salary in 2025-26 is $83,727, ranking 9th nationally and above the national average of $76,552. Finally, fall public school enrollment in 2025 fell by 1% to 539,644.
Quarterly jobs report: OBI released the Q1 2026 Oregon Jobs Report, produced by Colorado-based Aspen Tech Labs. The report found, among other things, that Oregon job postings increased by 6.6% in Q1, though they’re down more than 10% year over year. The median full-time salary in Oregon job postings increased by 2.2% between March 2025 and March 2026. Nationally, the median salary increased twice as much – by 4.4% – during the same period. Read the full jobs report here.
The Month Ahead: Three Things to Watch
Here are three things to watch for in May:
Oregon revenue forecast: On May 20, the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis will release the Q2 Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast. The forecast describes economic conditions affecting the nation and the state and provides updated revenue statistics and predictions. The report provides information used by state policymakers to create and adjust budgets. These releases are highly anticipated and closely watched. To learn more, visit the economic and revenue forecast website here or check out the Q1 Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast here.
May primary election: You knew about the election already, but a reminder never hurt anyone. You should have received your ballot in the mail by now. Ballots must be returned or mailed by Election Day, which is Tuesday, May 19. To be processed, mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.
Custom fabrication rules: This item seems very inside-baseball, but the effect of the policy will be wide-ranging. On May 31, the deadline to comment on rules implementing a 2025 Oregon manufacturing law will expire. That law, created by HB 2688, applies the prevailing wage to “bespoke” (basically, custom) manufacturing work related to public works projects but performed off-site – within the walls of a manufacturing facility, for example. Prevailing wages, which tend to be far higher than market wages, historically have been paid for on-site work conducted for public projects such as roads and buildings. HB 2688 represents a significant expansion of prevailing wage law, and its passage will further cement Oregon’s status as one of the nation’s most heavily regulated states. The Bureau of Labor and Industries is developing the rules implementing the law. You can find BOLI’s proposed rules here and a comment form created by BOLI here.
Spotlight: Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax
What is the CAT? You probably know already, but just in case: CAT refers to Oregon’s corporate activity tax, a gross receipts tax established by the Legislature in 2019 through the passage of HB 3427. Businesses pay $250, plus 0.57% of all commercial activity (not profits!) over $1 million, minus various subtractions. Because the tax threshold is low, it hits small and large businesses alike. And because the threshold is not indexed to inflation, it hits smaller and smaller businesses with each passing year. Read more here.
Why was it created? The Legislature created the CAT to raise money for public education three years after voters defeated Measure 97, a 2016 measure backed by public employee unions that would have imposed an even larger gross receipts tax. Most of the revenue generated by the CAT is distributed to schools by the Oregon Department of Education in the form of grants. This revenue is not accounted for by the state’s steadily growing general fund.
What else it does: In addition to creating the CAT, HB 3427 reduced personal income tax rates for the three lowest-income brackets by 0.25 percentage points, leaving the highest-income bracket unchanged. Because cutting income tax rates reduces the flow of tax revenue to the state general fund, HB 3427 directs some CAT revenue – quite a bit, actually – to the general fund to fill the gap. The CAT is expected to generate just over $3 billion during the 2025-27 biennium, according to the state’s March 2026 revenue forecast. Of that amount, $832 million (27%) is expected to flow to the general fund, largely to offset personal income tax cuts.
CAT in context: The CAT on its own shifts a significant amount of money from Oregon’s businesses to state government, as the chart above indicates. But it is one of many policies, including tax policies, that affect businesses and the people they employ. The effects of these policies often compound. Consider, for example, the 2012 ballot measure that redirects the corporate kicker to public education (read about this in the inaugural Oregon Business Insider newsletter here). During just three biennia (2019-21, 2021-23 and 2023-25), the combined revenue effect of the CAT and kicker retention was roughly $10.25 billion (see chart here). That staggering sum was not available to Oregon businesses to invest in facilities, machinery and people, hampering their ability to grow.
Statistic of the Month: Oregon’s Economic Growth in 2025
What happened: According to recently released federal data, Oregon’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a tepid 1% in 2025 to an inflation-adjusted $266 billion. This marks the fifth consecutive year in which the growth of Oregon’s economy trailed the national average, which in 2025 was 2.1%. At no other point since at least 2000 has Oregon’s economic growth trailed the national average for more than two consecutive years (see chart above).
Oregon’s rank nationally: The economies of only five states grew more slowly than Oregon’s last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The state’s rank for growth rate (44th, tied with Kentucky) was the lowest in at least 20 years and a far cry from 2015, when Oregon’s economy grew at the nation’s fastest rate. Since that year, Oregon’s rank has declined steadily. See chart here.
Why it matters: Put simply, Oregon’s moribund economy is producing jobs, investment and tax revenue less effectively than those of every state except Maryland, Maine, West Virginia, Wyoming and North Dakota. Among the most significant contributing factors are those noted by Chief Executive (above) in ranking states, including tax and regulatory climate.
Learn more: For more Oregon competitiveness data and rankings, visit The Oregon Scorecard.
Oregon Business Matters Talks with ATI’s Trevor Giroux
Oregon Business Matters is OBI’s biweekly podcast. It features interviews with state business and political leaders, economists, academics, pollsters – all with a focus on issues that matter to Oregon’s businesses.
This month’s spotlight episode is our interview with Trevor Giroux, president of ATI‘s Specialty Alloys and Components Division in Millersburg. This might just be the coolest company in Oregon that few people know about. It produces metals that can withstand incredibly harsh conditions, and its products are used in a wide variety of products, from jet engines to MRI machines. You can listen to that interview here. You can check out all of Oregon Business Matters’ episodes on OBI’s website here.
You can also subscribe to the Oregon Business Matters podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Opportunities to Engage
If you would like timely opportunities to engage in the political process, please consider signing up with the Oregon Prosperity Initiative. Participation will allow you to send comment letters to key legislators and policymakers in support of policies that would improve Oregon’s economic competitiveness – and in opposition to policies that would erode it. It’s an easy way to help improve Oregon’s business climate.
About Oregon Business & Industry
OBI is Oregon’s statewide chamber of commerce and also Oregon’s affiliate for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation. OBI works tirelessly as the voice of business in Salem, pursuing policies necessary to support a prosperous private sector.
OBI members enjoy many benefits, including opportunities to participate in OBI’s policy-setting committees, participation in OBI events, regular communications about key public policy developments, and access to cost-saving programs, including:
HealthChoice: Helps businesses with fewer than 100 employees offer comprehensive health-care benefits through our partnership with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon.
Partners Retirement Plan: Allows multiple employers to offer a 401(k) benefit to employees through a group structure while maintaining individual company design and control over the benefit – such as eligibility, employer match, and vesting.
CompSAFE: Helps eligible companies enjoy workers’ compensation discounts through SAIF Corporation.
Fuel Program: Helps members save fuel costs through our partnership with Ed Staub & Sons.
LegalPLUS: OBI members receive 15 minutes of free legal consulting per month from Innova Legal Advisors.
Go here to learn more about OBI, here to learn more about OBI’s member benefits and here to talk with OBI about becoming a member.