Portland-area economy weakens Q1 - Nashville Business Journal:

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percent, an accelerating declinee compared tothe 13.5 percent (revised) drop in the fourtnh quarter of 2008. Of the nine indicators includefd inthe index, six declinecd significantly, said Tim Duy, director of the Oregohn Economic Forum and a UO adjunct assistant professor, Labot market trends continue to deteriorate. Help-wantedx advertising in The Oregonian fell duringthe quarter, consistentt with a decrease in hiring demand. Similarly, initial unemploymentr claims continuedto rise, reaching a month averag e of 16,819 claims. Non-farm payrolls continue to fall as under the dual forcews of increased layoffs and slack hiring payrollsstand 3.9 percent lower than year-ago levels.
The expectec slowdown in lodging activity finally cameto pass, said Duy,with estimatesd lodging revenue (seasonally and inflatiom adjusted) down 15.4 percent from the fourth Passenger traffic at Portland Internationapl Airport was effectively unchanged from the previous quarter. Housing markets were generally Housing sales wereeffectively unchanged, whilw average days-on-market fell, partially offsetting a particularly sharp rise in the fourtyh quarter of 2008, attributable to the intensificatio of the financial crisis and unusual weather conditions, said Duy. Ongoingt declines in the in point to continuerd economic deterioration in the Portland he added.
Signs of stabilization are difficult to he said; expectations for a firming of economic activityh in the second half of 2009 are largelyh based on some tentative signs of stabilityu in the national economy. Moreover, the impact of fiscaol and monetary policies shoulxd become more evident as theyear progresses. Still, the pace of the recoveryt is expected to be subdued as the economy adjustzs to an environment less dependenton debt-supported consumer spending growth.