SALEM — Inflation is down, wages are up, and Oregon unemployment is at a record low.

And yet Oregonians remain very concerned about the state’s economy and their own budgets, according to new poll results.

Fifty-nine percent say they’re worried or very worried about their personal finances, an August poll from DHM Research finds. That’s down from 65% in March but still among the highest readings since the pandemic hit.

Oregonians aren’t feeling any better about the future: 56% say the state’s economy is getting worse. That’s more than twice as much pessimism as Oregonians reported in 2019 and the highest number in six DHM polls since then.

Why are Oregonians feeling so bad when many economic indicators are showing signs of improvement?

The poll suggests people are increasingly uneasy about housing and the job market.

Respondents rate homelessness and poverty as Oregon’s biggest problems, by a wide margin. Nearly half of respondents cited them, linked as a single issue in the poll, as the state’s most important — as many as the next four issues combined. Another 22% rated housing, inflation or the economy as Oregon’s biggest problem.

The Federal Reserve helped tame inflation by raising interest rates, but that’s made it more expensive to borrow money to buy a home and increased the cost of carrying credit card debt. Meanwhile, the number of Oregon job vacancies keeps falling — from 107,000 in the spring of 2021 to fewer than 70,000 in the spring of 2023.

Higher interest rates are also cooling the job market.

A year ago, a slim majority of Oregonians told pollsters that workers had more leverage in job negotiations than employers. They now feel much differently — with just 31% saying they believe workers have more power.

Asked if they could cover $1,000 in emergency household costs and still pay their rent or mortgage on time, 39% said no. Forty-two percent said they consider their own housing situation unaffordable, meaning that rent and utilities consume more than 30% of their income.

“If folks are stressed about paying their rent, feel like they’ve lost power in the workplace and that there are fewer good jobs available, I can see why people conclude that the economy is in poor shape,” said DHM’s John Horvick.

One bright spot in the poll: Slightly more than half of Oregonians say this remains a good, or very good, time to find a job. That’s unchanged from a year ago.