1. Unemployment and joblessness are unacceptable and need to be decreased.

• Parents are worried about their children not being able to find work after college.
• In the future, Portlanders want to see unemployment and joblessness eliminated.
• Many people express discontent over the limited availability of professional jobs in Portland, especially considering how many well-educated people live here or are moving here.
• Young people are finding it difficult to find work.

Sample Strategies:

1. A few people would like to see Portland attract large employers to the area to provide more jobs to Portland’s residents.

2. Portland needs a wider range of employment opportunities to fit the diverse skills of its residents.

• Portland is seen by many as lacking sufficient employment opportunities for people at both the high end and low end of the skills spectrum.
• Many workers who are not highly educated would still like to be able to find jobs that provide them with a sense of meaning.
• At the same time, those who have higher degrees often struggle to find jobs where they can apply their skills.
• Technical assistance and support should be provided to people wanting to start businesses or those who have recently opened businesses and need to sustain operations.
• Technology training should be cutting edge in both the educational system and within local hi-tech companies in order to provide stable employment.
• Manufacturing and trade work should remain within the city limits and be available to locals, rather than being pushed to the suburbs or elsewhere.

Sample Strategies:

1. Create more employment opportunities by developing new types of work and promoting the development of new and emerging business sectors.
2. Recruit all different sizes and types of businesses to Portland that can provide a wide variety of employment options.
3. Increase training and opportunities in the trades for young workers (15-20 years old) who do not want to pursue higher education.

3. Some people value the employment opportunities currently available in Portland.

• A small group of respondents mention valuing their jobs. These people are either satisfied with the amount of jobs that exist or the variety in job opportunities.
• Some people express appreciation for the availability of day labor work in Portland.
• Others describe the ease with which they are able to find work.
• Respondents value the chance to work in particular work sectors or to easily transfer jobs.
  [Note: refer to Economy: Economic Opportunities]

4. Employment options should be secured primarily through the expansion of localized businesses and economy.

• People want to see a substantial increase in the amount of local businesses. These businesses are seen as providing access to quality employment opportunities and contributing resources back into the community.
• Local businesses must offer secure employment that allows employees to remain in their jobs and to support their families.
• The City government should be responsible for supporting new small business owners and ensuring that businesses are positioned to offer quality jobs and job benefits to Portlanders.

5. Efforts to increase employment opportunities should be neighborhood-centered.

• Neighborhoods should have affordable housing and ample employment opportunities located near residential areas.
• Having employment, housing and services centralized helps to instill in residents a greater sense of pride and ownership in their community and neighborhoods.
• Increased business development should be prioritized in certain areas, such as East Portland, to reduce unemployment and other related factors.
• Neighborhood businesses help preserve neighborhood character. [Note: see Urban Livability: Neighborhood Livability].
• Neighborhood jobs reduce traffic and commute times.

6. There should be more job training and employment opportunity for minority and underrepresented groups.

• Respondents identify a number of groups that currently lack access to adequate job training and employment options, including:
  • Seniors;
  • People with developmental and physical disabilities (ie: visual and physical impairment);
  • Youth;
  • People experiencing or transitioning from homelessness;
  • People with felony convictions;
  • People of color;
  • Immigrants and refugees; and
  • People with limited formal education.
• More minority-specific support and engagement programs are needed to leverage the growth of minority-owned businesses.
• Active recruitment of minority groups for jobs, including positions in local government, should help increase diversity in the workforce.
• Many people imagine a future in which minorities are fully employed.

Sample Strategies:

1. Labor centers for migrant laborers and others who need work to assist them in their search for work and to protect their rights.
2. "More job opportunities and training for low skills workers and that did not had the opportunity to go to school, so they can have equal opportunities in the workplace to increase the minimum wage."
3. More employment training increasing equal opportunity to those who may not have had access to higher education.

7. There should be more job training and employment opportunity for minority and underrepresented groups.

• Portlanders support businesses of all sizes that provide living wages and good benefits to their workers, seeing these businesses as a key to Portland’s livability.
• Overwhelmingly, community members feel more must be done to increase workers’ access to benefits, including:
  • Health benefits for their families;
  • Paid vacation time and parental leave time;
  • Retirement benefits; and
  • Flexible schedules that accommodate the other facets of people’s lives.
• Respondents would like to see the minimum wage increased and in general would like to see wages keep up with the rising costs of living.
• Some advocated that day laborers specifically should have the right to secure, living wage jobs and access to health care.

Sample Strategies:

1. Attract employers who provide living wage employment and benefits to support low to medium income families.
2. Invest in microenterprise and business incubator initiatives to promote entrepreneurship as an alternative route to increased income.
3. "...The working population would be 30% unionized so that the standards for health care, pensions, wages, job security would be the norm."

8. Certain inequities exist both in the job market and on the job.

• Some people speak of the need to eliminate discrimination in the workplace and in job hiring and with recruitment.
• While Portland is seen by many as a progressive place, respondents note that discrimination in the workplace still exists, particularly towards the following groups:
  • Immigrants;
  • Women;
  • People of color;
  • Sexual and gender minorities; and
  • The oldest and the youngest workers.
• A number of respondents specifically mention age discrimination and believe that this type of discrimination exists but tends to be overlooked.
• Certain professions are recognized as being underpaid, such as artists, teachers and nonprofit employees. Workers in these areas would like compensation to sustain their hard work.

Sample Strategies:

1. Increase cultural sensitivity trainings for management teams in both public and private sectors.
2. Increase recruitment and retention of minority individuals in leadership positions to help broaden diversity in the workforce.

9. Education and employment should be viewed as interdependent.

• Many people mention the connection between education and jobs and want to see Portland prepare its youth to be successful in the job market when they leave school.
• Well-educated young adults are more capable of creating jobs by starting new businesses, nonprofits and other employment-generating ventures.
• A thriving public school system can also help draw jobs to Portland, as businesses will relocate because of the high quality of life for families.
• Portland can also increase its economic competitiveness by ensuring that more minority and disadvantaged students complete high school and go on to obtain a higher education.
• Portlanders would also like to see more partnering between local businesses and local schools. Ideas for business-school partnerships include:
  • Increasing the amount that businesses donate both to schools and to students in the form of scholarships; and
  • Encouraging businesses to provide more internships, jobs and job training opportunities to young people.

Sample Strategies:

1. “Start a new public works program where young people/unemployed and low skilled can get public works jobs along with a stipend for education, and job training and mentorship to move up.”
2. Create more employment training programs, including training in the trades.