Kate Davidson
Kate Davidson is OPB’s business and economics reporter. She was previously OPB’s "All Things Considered" host.
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" about the experiences of Navajo children sent to live with white Mormon families across the West.
Latest Stories
Oregon semiconductor bill could temporarily change state’s approach to land use
Initial legislation aimed at boosting the semiconductor industry would also allow the governor to change urban growth boundaries.
Many Oregon cities and towns say they’re short on industrial land
And they can’t afford the infrastructure to prepare that land for development.
December whale watching tradition resumes at the Oregon Coast
For the first time since the pandemic hit, volunteers will help coastal visitors spot gray whales on their extraordinary southern migration.
November unemployment rate rises in Oregon and Washington, though both states grow payroll jobs
A decline in self-employment in Oregon may be pushing the jobless rate up
Oregon workers and employers will soon pay into state’s new paid leave program
Oregonians should see deductions from their paychecks in January. Paid leave benefits are scheduled to roll out in September.
Portland mayor promises action on Central Eastside safety concerns
Mayor Ted Wheeler told business owners he’d implement a 90-day plan involving more police and fewer tents.
Oregon’s jobless rate rose to 4.1% in October; state economists predict recession next year
Still, hiring picked up and the state reached a record-high number of jobs.
Candidates to run Oregon’s labor bureau see similar problems, different solutions
The race for BOLI commissioner pits employment lawyer Christina Stephenson against restaurant owner and former state representative Cheri Helt.
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Lost wages and mounting debt: The economic blow of long COVID-19 in Oregon
More than 200,000 Oregonians have likely experienced long COVID-19, causing significant health issues and financial pain. The condition’s economic toll is beginning to come into focus.
Oregon’s mass timber industry gets boost from federal government
A $41 million grant could help create a pipeline of affordable mass timber homes.