Prineville makes the top 10 list of the most economically dynamic towns in the country!

BEND BULLETIN – October 15th, 2022

Reporter: jsiess@bendbulletin.com

“The list was published in a report issued by Heartland Forward, a nonprofit focused on improving economic performance, which placed Prineville as number nine on the list of the Most Dynamic Micropolitans for 2022.”

“Heartland Forward ranked micropolitan areas across the United States by studying changes in key economic conditions from 2015 through 2020. The change in employment from September 2020 through September 2021, reflecting the community’s ability to rebound from the early months of the pandemic, was also a factor in the ranking.”

The Oregon Employment Department has officially set the rates that employers and employees will have to pay for the state’s new paid family and medical leave program.

Starting in January, workers will pay 0.6% every paycheck and employers will pay 0.4%, the state decided.

“For example, if an employee made $1,000 in wages, the employee would pay $6 and the employer would pay $4 for this paycheck,” the Employment Department said in a press release.

More

Alaska Airlines is launching a program to train more pilots. Learn more here.

By Jamie Goldberg | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Alaska Airlines is prepared to spend millions of dollars to help students attend an Oregon flight school, get their commercial pilot licenses and then get them flying planes for Horizon Air, its regional sister carrier.

The Seattle-based air group is partnering with the Hillsboro Aero Academy to launch the flight school program, which will offer training in either Hillsboro or Redmond. The airline will offer low-interest flight school loans, cover the cost of a commercial pilot license, then give the new pilots a job upon completing the program.

Bend Parks & Recreation is hosting a hiring event today! Find out more here.

Free recreation center pass with interview!

With the busy seasons ahead and increasing recreation operations, Bend Park and Recreation District is hosting a hiring event and invites potential team members to learn more about job opportunities available in the district’s custodial, landscaping, maintenance, recreation and aquatics teams.

The hiring event is scheduled:
Thursday, March 3, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Bend Park & Recreation District Office,
799 S.W. Columbia Street in Bend

At the event, attendees can learn about particular positions, complete applications and participate in on-site interviews. BPRD plans to make job offers on the spot.…

Oregon’s unemployment rates are continuing to decline – MSA and food service employment rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. Read more here.

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in December, edging down from 4.2% in November, according to the state Employment Department.

This was the 20th consecutive month of declines in Oregon’s unemployment rate.

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in November to 3.9% in December.

Nonfarm payroll employment in Oregon rose by 8,200 in December, following a revised gain of 9,200 jobs in November.

Throughout 2021, monthly job gains averaged 8,900. In December, gains were largest in leisure and hospitality (+2,600 jobs), health care and social assistance (+1,200), manufacturing (+900), and professional and business services (+900). None of the major industries had a big drop in jobs during December.