Smugpocalypse Now

PORTLAND MAY HAVE lived through record unemployment this
summer, but a new survey suggests a bleak job market did little to
dampen the enthusiasm of our citizenry for living here. In fact, a new
survey by the city auditor’s office shows Portlanders are happier than
ever with their city—with 83 percent of people surveyed awarding
high ratings to Portland’s livability, an increase from 76 percent five
years ago.

Statewide unemployment figures may be down from 12.2 percent in May
to 11.3 percent as of Monday, November 16, but net job loss in the
Portland metro area continues, with the loss of 14,000 jobs since May.
In the last 12 months, the metro area has lost 60,800 jobs, which
accounts for 5.9 percent of all jobs.

Because the unemployment rate is falling, those net job loss numbers
suggest people may be leaving the workforce—deciding to stop
looking for work, or physically leaving Oregon, says Christian Kaylor,
a workforce analyst with the Oregon Employment Department.

“People may be deciding to go live in their mom’s basement, take
antidepressants, and play Xbox,” he says. “They have essentially given
up.”

Meanwhile, satisfaction with the city’s police bureau is also up
since 2005, from 63 percent to 70 percent, despite the outstanding
lawsuit against the city over the 2006 death in custody of James
Chasse, a man with schizophrenia. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of
Portland residents rate city government’s job positively, an 11 percent
increase from five years ago. However, while 74 percent of close-in
Northeast residents rate city government highly, only 48 percent of
East Portland residents agree.

“I can definitely see why central Portland residents would be more
in love with city government,” says Nick Christensen, vice chair of the
Lents Neighborhood Association, out in East Portland. “They have their
streets paved, and businesses are flourishing even in the midst of the
recession.”

Still, Christensen thinks the city is starting to pay more attention
to outlying neighborhoods like his, and he was encouraged recently by
Mayor Sam Adams’ suggestion that extensions to the city’s streetcar
network should begin in outer East Portland and work their way back
into the city, rather than the other way around.

“People can be dissatisfied all they want,” Christensen concludes.
“But outer East Portland is still a paradise compared to areas of other
Western cities.”