Damon Runberg, formerly the regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department, stands in the Old Mill District in Bend on Wednesday. Runberg is now an economist with Business Oregon, the state's economic development department.

As Central Oregon’s chief economist, Damon Runberg could wax poetic on complex issues like supply chains, employment sectors and industry trends, and do so in a way that regular people could understand.

For more than a decade, it was his gift as well as his charm.

But on Sept. 9, Runberg stepped down from the position at the Oregon Employment Department to become an economist at Business Oregon, the economic development department. He’ll be analyzing economic data and speaking in broader context from a statewide perspective, he said.

“It’s a new opportunity for me,” said Runberg, 35. “I’ve always loved the people/public side of being an economist and never liked the sitting in front of a computer screen analyzing data. This opportunity will provide less interaction with the public, but the broader impact will be greater because I’ll be able to make an impact statewide. There’s lots of opportunity here.”

While the employment department has not named his replacement, Runberg reflected on his time as the regional economist, a position that wasn’t his first choice after graduating with a master’s degree in public policy in 2011 from Oregon State University.

“My focus was forestry, forecasting stream flows and timber yields,” he said. “I never got to that. Moving into the employment landscape was a far better career move. Employment touches everything.

“It was a dream job at my age.”

When he started as a regional economist for Central Oregon in 2011, the community was climbing out of the Great Recession. But that wasn’t his most challenging time as a labor economist. It was nearly a decade later, when one in five workers in Deschutes County lost their job during the pandemic.

The ensuing double-digit unemployment hit many industry sectors all at once and sent the economy into a tailspin that the region only now is recovering from, he said.

As the regional economist, Runberg was the expert in all things employment along the east slope of the Cascades. He spoke of job trends from Wasco, Wheeler, Hood River, Gilliam, Sherman, Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Klamath and Lake counties.

“My job was to tell people what was going on,” Runberg said. “People were afraid and worried about where to get money and where to get help. Usually, I deal in the unemployment rate, which is the aggregate of lots of

people. But dealing with unemployment from a person who lost a job and was experiencing the worst day of their life, that was a sobering reminder for me of the human aspect of my job.”

During the pandemic and the related business closures, Runberg was often brought in to offer expertise on employment trends, said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO. Often, Runberg was invited to speak to employers trying to figure out how to navigate pandemic-related workforce issues.

“Damon is the king of making economic data relatable,” Brooks said. “His work with businesses and the community has helped us understand and make decisions as we weathered the good and bad of the labor market and economy.

“We are fortunate to have other skilled Central Oregon economists to draw from and we will have the benefit of Damon’s insights as he goes to work for Business Oregon,” she said. “We will continue to see him contribute to our community and wish him the best of luck.”

Never one to shy away from public speaking about employment trends, Runberg thrived on the public aspect of his role as a regional economist. And while his new role will afford some of the same perks, he’ll be mostly evaluating policy and effectiveness of programs that impact the public by encouraging a strong economy.

“The easiest part for me has always been the public speaking part,” Runberg said. “I love talking to groups of people. It’s my dopamine, my happy place. And it’s always been the best way to show the work and was a direct way to fulfill my mission.

“I wanted to help them make more informed decisions. Going forward I won’t have that kind of direct contact with folks, but now I’ll be focusing on businesses. There’s a human element to be sure.”

Runberg’s employment trends are useful when the Economic Development for Central Oregon organization encourages a new employer to relocate in Central Oregon, said CEO Jon Stark. In fact, Runberg’s models and projections are often used in partnership with EDCO data.

EDCO has often asked Runberg to be a speaker at events and join panels discussing the Central Oregon labor market.

“He’s been a trusted partner for us in real time,” Stark said. “We’re so appreciative of all the work he’s done. He’s reliable and responsive to requests to support business. He’s been able to extrapolate the data for us and has done deeper dives into the data for us.”

Relevant data by industry enables EDCO to showcase the region to new businesses and to illustrate to those businesses that they can employ a workforce that will support their business, Stark said. When businesses consider a community to locate to, they often ask about the quality of the labor pool. Having accurate data to show businesses has been instrumental in encouraging traded-sector businesses to come to Central Oregon, Stark said.

“Not all economists can color their stories, keep people engaged and be humorous,” said Stark. “He has a welcoming demeanor and can make information digestible like few economists can.

“He has some big shoes to fill.”