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WHY DO WE CARE? <br />The citizens of the Eugene-Springfield metro area have felt the burden of the <br />financial crisis more so than in other counties and other states. The decline in <br />local jobs, is putting a strain on city, county and state budgets and programs. <br />The Eugene-Springfield metro area unemployment rate in July 2009 was 12.5%, <br />a 6-percentage point increase over the last year, which is slightly higher than the <br />state unemployment rate of 11.9%. The decline in the availability of local jobs <br />has put increased pressure on social services. The number of cases in the <br />federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for our local district <br />has increased 18.5 percentage points over the past year. The number of <br />applications for low-income housing in Lane County in 2008 increased 13 <br />percentage points compared to the previous year. These programs are <br />indicative that the economic crisis has significantly impacted our local economy <br />and that the need for a regional, long-term strategy for not only economic <br />recovery, but also economic prosperity is strong. <br />HOW WE GOT HERE <br />The region’s Joint Elected Officials, the City Councils of Eugene, Springfield, and <br />the Lane County Commissioners, were seeking a way to respond to our <br />economic crisis. The JEO put forward challenging goals: <br />“By 2020, create 20,000 net new jobs in the chosen economic <br />opportunity areas; reduce the local unemployment rate to, or below the <br />state average; and increase the average wage to or above the state <br />average.” <br />The elected officials also put forward a few guiding principles to help focus and <br />steer strategies towards those that would be most compatible with the assets and <br />2 <br />