Portland-area economy weakens Q1 - South Florida Business Journal:

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percent, an accelerating decline compared tothe 13.5 percent (revised) drop in the fourtn quarter of 2008. Of the nine indicatorse included inthe index, six declinex significantly, said Tim Duy, director of the Oregoh Economic Forum and a UO adjunct assistang professor, Labor market trends continude to deteriorate. Help-wanted advertisinh in The Oregonian fell during the consistent with a decrease inhiring Similarly, initial unemployment claims continued to rise, reaching a month average of 16,8199 claims. Non-farm payrolls continue to fall as under the dual forces of increased layoffs and slack hiring payrollsstand 3.9 percent lower than year-agok levels.
The expected slowdown in lodging activitt finally cameto pass, said Duy,with estimaterd lodging revenue (seasonally and inflatiohn adjusted) down 15.4 percent from the fourtgh quarter. Passenger traffic at Portland Internationa Airport was effectively unchanged from the previous Housing markets weregenerally weaker. Housingy sales were effectively unchanged, while average days-on-marketr fell, partially offsetting a particularly sharl rise in the fourth quartertof 2008, attributable to the intensificatio of the financial crisis and unusual weather conditions, said Duy.
Ongoinbg declines in the in point to continuerd economic deterioration in thePortland region, he Signs of stabilization are difficult to find, he expectations for a firming of economic activityy in the second half of 2009 are largely baseds on some tentative signs of stability in the nationao economy. Moreover, the impact of fisca and monetary policies should become more evident as theyear Still, the pace of the recovery is expecte d to be subdued as the economy adjusts to an environment less dependen on debt-supported consumer spending growth.