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Data from this study and other sources suggests that the persistence of the county’s single adult homeless population is <br />due in part to demographic variables and rental stock realities over which the county has limited, if any, control. <br />1. WHAT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA TELLS US ABOUT THE LANE COUNTY <br />POPULATION’S NEED FOR HOUSING <br />Lane County demographic data describes a county population that is older, more disabled, and less employed than other <br />parts of the state. Perhaps in part because of these characteristics, the data paints Lane County as strikingly poorer than <br />several other Oregon counties, the rest of Oregon, and the United States as a whole.12 <br />TABLE 3: ESTIMATED POVERTY RATES, U.S. CENSUS <br />Geographic Area Poverty Rate <br />Lane County 18.3% <br />United States 12.7% <br />State of Oregon 13.3% <br />Marion County, OR 13.6% <br />Multnomah County, OR 14.2% <br />Portland, OR 16.9% <br />The county has more people over the age of 65 compared to the United States as a whole or to the State of Oregon (See Table 4 below). <br />TABLE 4: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION AGE 65 YEARS AND OLDER, U.S. CENSUS <br />The county has fewer people age 16 and older employed in the civilian labor force. In September 2018, the State of <br />Oregon reported an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent for Lane County, compared to 3.2-3.5 percent in the tri-county <br />area surrounding Portland, and 3.8 percent for the state as a whole. <br />Geographic Area Percent of Persons 65 Years of Age and Older <br />Lane County 18.7% <br />United States 15.6% <br />State of Oregon 17.1% <br />Marion County, OR 15.3% <br />Multnomah County, OR 13% <br />Portland, OR 11.6% <br />TABLE 5: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION AGE 16 OR OLDER IN CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE, U.S. CENSUS <br />Geographic Area Percent of Persons Age 16 or Older in the Civilian Labor Force <br />Lane County 59.2% <br />United States 63.1% <br />State of Oregon 61.9% <br />Marion County, OR 61.8% <br />Multnomah County, OR 68.7% <br />Portland, OR 69.5% <br />12 The Census indicates limitations to comparing poverty data across geographies. <br />EXTERNAL CHALLENGES IN LANE COUNTY PAGE 10 <br />January 22, 2019, Joint Work Session - Item 1