SALEM Comprising 2 percent of Oregonians in 1960, American Indians, blacks and Asians now make up more than 6 percent of the population, according to a publication released by the Oregon Employment Department.
The publication, American Indians, Blacks and Asians in Oregons Work Force, also showed that while whites account for most of the population growth, the minority population is increasing at a greater rate.
The minority population is projected to continue to increase at a rate greater than that for the population as a whole, department officials said.
This growth has had an impact on the economy, officials said. Between 1987 and 1992, minority-owned business in Oregon grew at a rate of 64 percent. This sector is believed to have expanded in a similar fashion during the years since.
In 1998, the department published Hispanics in Oregons Workforce, which examined the social and employment characteristics of Oregons fastest-growing ethnic group, officials said.
American Indians, Blacks and Asians in Oregons Work Force is the first publication by the department to bring together socio-economic and labor force information about Oregons racial minorities.
The report includes profiles of individual workers and founders of minority-owned businesses from these population groups. It also provides brief Oregon histories of the racial minority groups, officials said.