Oregon teen unemployment third highest
Staff // Portland Business JournalJanuary 26, 2010
Not only does Oregon have one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at 11 percent, the state's teen unemployment rate is now the third-highest.
Analysis of preliminary data by the Washington, D,C-based Employment Policies Institute shows that the teen unemployment rate in Oregon has averaged just over 31 percent over the last year. This is nearly 28 percent higher than the national teen average, and the third-highest average state teen unemployment rate in the nation.
The institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth, blames the high teen unemployment rate on the fact that Oregon has one of the highest minimum wages in the country.
"Oregon's high minimum wage has made it more difficult for employers to hire and train low-skilled workers who rely on entry-level jobs to get started in the work force," said Kristen Eastlick, a senior economic analyst at the institute.
Richard Berman has been a regular front man for business and industry in campaigns against consumer safety and environmental groups. Through his public affairs firm, Berman and Company, Berman has fought unions, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, PETA and other watchdog groups in their efforts to raise awareness about obesity, the minimum wage, the dangers of smoking, mad cow disease, drunk driving, and other causes. Berman runs at least 15 industry-funded front groups and projects, such as the Center for Union Facts and holds 16 "positions" in those organizations.
Each year, Berman, using his front groups to spread misinformation, spends millions of dollars distracting the public with misleading ads.
As a result of his largesse, in 2006, Richard Berman used $2,000,000 in cash to buy this $3.3 million house.
