SALEM â Oregon small-business owners are more optimistic about the future than they have been at any point since the pandemic began. Nearly three-quarters of Oregon businesses expect theyâll be back to ânormalâ operations in six months or sooner, according to the latest tally of a weekly survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. Thatâs twice as many as last August. A fifth of businesses say they have already returned to normal operations. The data from the Census Bureauâs Small Business Pulse Survey is another indication that Oregonâs economy is well on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 recession.