2014 National Convening Skills Presenations Portland Plan | Page 52

THE PORTLAND PLAN

Portland Today
Trade and growth opportunities: In 2008, Portland ranked 12th among U.S. metropolitan areas for total exports, which
is a high ranking for Portland’s size and relatively small regional consumer base. Among the export and other traded sector
industries, Portland’s four “target business clusters” provided 52,000 jobs in the city in 2008.
Urban innovation to grow local firms: Portland’s land use, transportation and green development innovations and the
local businesses that design, manufacture and implement them have attracted national recognition. Portland is consistently
recognized as an innovative urban laboratory. This has strategically positioned the city for key growth opportunities in the
expanding green economy and technology industries.
Trade hub and freight mobility: Portland is the West Coast’s fourth largest freight gateway for international trade, and
regional freight tonnage is forecast to double between 2005 and 2035 at an average annual growth rate of 2.2 percent.
Lagging job growth: Regional and local job growth has not been fast enough to bring down Multnomah County
unemployment rates, which significantly exceeded the national average over much of the last decade. In 2008, Portland
had 38 percent of the Portland-Vancouver region’s jobs, but much of the new job growth was outside the city. The city
created only 5 percent of regional job growth between 2000–2008.
Lack of education and job training: Over 50 percent of unemployed people in the region lack basic skills in reading
and/or math — a major barrier to obtaining living-wage employment. Jobs requiring some advanced training and less than
a four-year degree will likely account for the largest unmet need for education and training.
Lack of neighborhood business vitality: In recent years, many of Portland’s 23 neighborhood market areas lost jobs.
Commercial vitality is widely uneven among neighborhood business districts as shown by retail sales capture rates, which
range from 220 to 12 percent of neighborhood market potential. Many neighborhood business districts have the potential
to capture more local sales.
Increased cost of living: Average earnings in Multnomah County have not kept up with the rising costs of housing and
living over the last decade. This shrinking value of paychecks is particularly burdening low- and middle-income workers.
Cost-burdened households: Nearly a quarter of renter households in Portland are cost burdened, spending 50 percent
or more of their income on housing and transportation expenses. There are also many cost burdened homeowners. Metro
2030 forecasts predict a steep increase in the number of c ost burdened households (renters and owners) for the region.
Household economic insecurity: Only 77 percent of Multnomah County households were estimated to be economically
self-sufficient in 2005–07 (before the recent recession). The other 23 percent were not earning enough to cover costs for
basic needs at local prices.
Energy and resource resilience: Climate change, rising and uncertain gasoline prices and supplies, earthquakes and
other environmental and future risks affect the costs of living and doing business. Recent examples of rising costs due to
mitigating environmental and other risks include the Big Pipe stormwater project, water system risks, energy infrastructure
vulnerabilities, and the Portland Harbor Superfund Site.

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April 2012 | www.pdxplan.com