The employment outlook in Lane County is positive as the New Year gets started.
Regional economist Brian Rooney says the service industry and health care have been strong this year. He says he doesn’t expect any major changes in 2017.
Rooney: “We’ve been experiencing over the year, job growth around 2.5%, which is relatively strong for Lane County in a recovery period. You know, it’s hard to say how long we can keep that growth rate going. So we may see some slowing in the coming year.”
In the past year, Springfield’s Swanson Mill was rebuilt after a fire, and Winnebago started manufacturing RVs in Junction City.Rooney says he was disappointed when tech company Broadcom decided not to start production at the old Hynix facility in Eugene. It would have meant a boost in high paying jobs in the region.