Voters in the Portland area say their economic prospects have collapsed over the past six years, with pessimism rising sharply amid mounting fears about job security and paying the bills.<\/p>\n
Nearly two-thirds of voters rate their economic prospects are poor or very poor, according to a new poll DHM Research conducted last month for the Portland Metro Chamber. That\u2019s an astonishing turnaround from just six years ago, when three-quarters of voters said their prospects were good or very good.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Can\u2019t see the graph? Click here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a real worrying chart,\u201d said DHM pollster John Horvick. \u201cThis one\u2019s a really striking result and I think something for all of us to be paying attention to and be concerned about.\u201d<\/p>\n Other results in the new poll, released Thursday, help illuminate voters\u2019 fears. Sixty-five percent of voters say they\u2019re extremely concerned about the cost of living, up from 41% just before COVID-19 hit in early 2020.<\/p>\n More striking, perhaps, is a rapid increase in voters\u2019 fears about the job market. Thirty-five percent now say that\u2019s a topic of great concern to them, up from 19% just a year ago.<\/p>\n Those growing worries correspond with a historic wave of layoffs<\/a>, concentrated in Portland\u2019s suburbs, and a steady rise in Oregon\u2019s jobless rate. At 5.2%, the state now ranks third nationally for unemployment. <\/p>\n The poll found voters in Clackamas and Washington counties are more likely to feel themselves worse off financially than those in Portland. Women, Republicans and non-Hispanic people of color were also more likely to report financial worries.<\/p>\n The share of voters who said their county is on the wrong track rose last year, too, DHM\u2019s poll found 47% said their county is on the wrong track in 2025. That\u2019s up from 38% in 2024 but down from 62% in 2021, as Oregonians coped with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Voters in Clackamas and Washington counties were responsible for the deteriorating mood. People in the suburbs had been feeling better than their counterparts in Multnomah County in 2024, but a sharp uptick in negative sentiments outside Portland now has people in all three counties feeling comparably gloomy. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Can\u2019t see the graph? Click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Concerns about \u201chigh taxes\u201d also increased sharply. Few voters named that their top issue in 2024 but it was the No. 2 issue in last month\u2019s poll \u2014 14% listed taxes as their biggest concern.<\/p>\n There was some good news. While homelessness remains metro area voters\u2019 top issue, the level of concern dropped sharply last year. <\/p>\n Just 20% of respondents rated homelessness as their No. 1 worry, down from 35% a year ago. Voters \u2014 especially those living in Portland \u2014 indicated they felt the region has also made progress on reducing crime, too.<\/p>\n Perceptions of downtown Portland are also improving, with an increase in the share of voters who say the city\u2019s core is improving and that they\u2019re more likely to visit. Most voters say they feel safe downtown during the day, though just a third of voters told pollsters they feel safe there at night. <\/p>\n Crime has been in steady decline downtown and in most of Portland over the past two years but the poll indicates lingering unease, especially for people who live outside the city. <\/p>\n Just a quarter of voters living outside Portland feel safe downtown at night, according to the poll. And only 5% of Republicans do.<\/p>\n That could reflect the hyper-partisan climate affecting many parts of society, Horvick said. But pedestrian traffic downtown is still 40% below pre-pandemic levels.<\/a> Horvick said Portland\u2019s success depends on appealing to people across the political and cultural spectrum.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to be attractive to everybody, left, right and center,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd here we see a real challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n