Multnomah County is quietly stepping out of the back seat and edging toward the driver’s seat of Portland’s economic future. A new consultant review has flagged a slide in traded-sector jobs and urged the county to stop treating workforce training and social programs as something separate from its economic playbook. Now commissioners are weighing recommendations that would push more money toward apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeship pipelines and neighborhood activation projects, potentially reshaping where scarce general-fund dollars go and how the county partners with cities, labor and business groups.
County commissions an economic landscape analysis
The Board of County Commissioners signed off on a one-time study to map Multnomah County’s economic position and possible levers for intervention, according to Multnomah County. County budget documents show a $100,000 contingency allocation to pay for the work and to convene an advisory task force of business, labor and agency partners. The request is detailed in Multnomah County’s budget packet (Multnomah County).
Who’s running the study
The county hired New Growth Innovation Network and BCT Partners as the consulting team on the project, according to New Growth Innovation Network. Their scope includes mapping traded-sector assets, workforce pipelines, land availability and tax tools that could be used to spark neighborhood-level and countywide growth.
Draft findings: job losses and policy pivots
Early recommendations, reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, show Multnomah County’s traded-sector employment falling about 6.8% between 2019 and 2024 while similar counties posted stronger gains. Consultants suggest redirecting county dollars into pre-apprenticeship programs, expanding apprenticeships and internships, tightening coordination with regional partners, and explicitly reframing some social-service spending as economic investment. BCT Partners director Abby Alfred cautioned that “a business can relocate 20 minutes away and eliminate the tax entirely,” a line the draft uses to stress concerns about tax competitiveness.
Why it matters: unemployment and a tight general fund
Multnomah County’s job recovery has been slower than the national picture. Compiled county figures put local unemployment close to 4.9%–5% at the end of 2025 (Macrotrends), while the national rate hovered around 4.4% (BLS). Those labor challenges are unfolding alongside tight county finances, with reporting projecting next-year general-fund shortfalls in the millions and one estimate landing near $10.5 million (Right Now Oregon). That combination of sluggish traded-sector growth and budget pressure is what pushed commissioners to order the study in the first place.
Next steps
County staff and the consulting team expect to finish the analysis and bring formal recommendations to the board soon. Commissioners say they will weigh those findings alongside upcoming budget decisions. Their response will determine whether Multnomah County steps fully into a more direct economic-development role or keeps its primary focus on the traditional social-service safety net.
