Oregon business group’s first ‘Competitiveness Book’ sees some state strengths, big problems in other areas – KTVZ

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon Business and Industry Research and Education Foundation this week released the inaugural Oregon Competitiveness Book, a collection of more than 50 indicators of economic competitiveness, from per-capita personal income to public school performance. For each indicator, the Oregon Competitiveness Book ranks Oregon among the 50 states.

As a companion to the Oregon Competitiveness Book, OBI has created a web page that provides context and analysis. The page sorts Oregon Competitiveness Book data into 11 categories, including business climate, taxation, wages and income, population and workforce, GDP and exports, and more. For each category, the web page provides trend information, where available, as well as additional data from Oregon Competitiveness Book source material and elsewhere. Visitors to the web page can read and download the Oregon Competitiveness Book as well.

What do the Oregon Competitiveness Book and companion site show? They describe a state that has a great deal of work to do if it wishes to remain competitive. Oregon is exceptional in some areas, including quality of life, technology and innovation. But it is exceptionally uncompetitive in others. State and local taxes are among the nation’s highest for individuals and businesses, for example. And its regulatory environment is ranked among the country’s most stifling.

“States are locked in a fierce competition for talented people and innovative businesses, and the Oregon Competitiveness Book shows that Oregon is not competing nearly as well as it can,” says OBI President and CEO Angela Wilhelms. “By many measures, in fact, Oregon is becoming increasingly less competitive.”

Economic competitiveness matters because businesses provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and generate the tax revenue Oregon’s state and local governments need to sustain critical public services. Unless Oregon becomes more competitive, business investment will continue to flow to more welcoming states, and talented people, innovation and tax revenue will follow.

The OBI Research and Education Foundation intends to update the Oregon Competitiveness Book and companion website annually.

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OBI is a statewide association representing businesses from a wide variety of industries and from each of Oregon’s 36 counties. In addition to being the statewide chamber of commerce, OBI is the state affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Retail Federation. Our 1,600 member companies, more than 80% of which are small businesses, employ more than 250,000 Oregonians. Oregon’s private sector businesses help drive a healthy, prosperous economy for the benefit of everyone.