Spanning the State: Special "What recession?" Edition

Economists are still debating whether Oregon will be hurt by the recession as much as the nation as a whole, but it’s already getting tough for the southern part of the state : Economists say Southern Oregon is staring to line up with national trends as the job market here slows down. "Even though Jackson County’s economy isn’t in recession we see clear signs that the economic growth that we had in the past is no longer taking place right now. It’s a very slow economic growth right now," says Ainoura Oussenbec, workforce analyst and the employment department. Oussenbec says many employers are cutting back hours and experiencing hiring freezes. She says, "Because a lot of employers are concerned about the slowing economy and high gas prices and a lot of other factors out there, of course they don’t want to hire. They want to wait and see how things are going." As the school year wraps up, many students will be looking for sum...