Kate Davidson
Reporter | OPBKate Davidson is OPB’s business and economics reporter.
Kate has deep experience reporting and producing for public media. Before moving to Oregon, she was a regular contributor to "Marketplace", a reporter at Michigan Radio focused on economic change in the industrial Midwest and a producer at NPR.
She has master’s degrees from the University of California-Berkeley and Columbia University, where she was a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economics and Business Journalism. She won a national Edward R. Murrow award for her NPR documentary, "Saints and Indians", which told the stories of Navajo children sent to live with white Mormon foster families across the West.
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A whiskey company and a specialty food market are examples of Oregon companies walloped by the global supply chain disruption. "Every step of everything that is supply chain related has been a battle," said the whiskey company's CEO. -
Employment growth in the state saw a “slowdown” amid a slump in seasonal hiring at schools.
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Multiple federal programs are sunsetting Sept. 4, cutting benefits to tens of thousands in Oregon.
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Oregon's unemployment rate parked at 6.0% in April. Long-term unemployment rose to its highest level in years.
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Most movie theaters in the state can now reopen at limited capacity. But some cinema owners aren’t ready yet.
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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced 10 counties had moved out of the "extreme risk" category for COVID-19. That means some indoor dining can resume in those places, gyms can serve more people and long-term care facilities can allow in-person visits.
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The agency was sued over lengthy delays paying unemployment benefits during the pandemic. Now, it has reached a settlement agreement with the Oregon Law Center.
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Restaurants laid off thousands of people. Months of overall job gains came to a stop as the state’s unemployment rate grew to 6.4% in December
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As Congress negotiates, Oregonians prepare for a gap in payment — or worse.
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About 70,000 Oregonians are expected to lose unemployment benefits this month. Meanwhile, COVID-19 has hit the agency’s largest claims center.
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Some of the first workers to lose jobs in the pandemic are losing them again in the “freeze.” As new business restrictions kicked in statewide this week, some workers and business owners experienced a gut-punching déjà vu.
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The move is meant to bolster the trust fund used to pay unemployment benefits.
