The recovery from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic varies depending on the type of business. That was one of the messages Thursday at an online forum held by Business Oregon.
The state’s unemployment rate is within a point of where it was just prior to COVID-19’s arrival. But Kryn Sausedo of the economic consulting firm ECONorthwest told leaders from six Willamette Valley counties that the recovery is not being felt evenly across the business community.
“There’s just a lot of unevenness within this discussion," he said. "Certain sectors have recovered," such as high-tech. "Other ones...advanced manufacturing, food and beverage, are still trying to get back to that pre-pandemic level.”
Business Oregon is creating a statewide economic recovery plan that will emphasize aid to those most affected by the pandemic. The forum was meant to gather feedback from the business community, with a goal of finalizing a plan by next February.