Tourism Employment Still on the Rise in Deschutes County

Deschutes County is synonymous with vacation. From golfing to waterskiing, rock climbing to snowboarding (not to mention fishing and shopping!) the county has it all.

Employment data indicate that establishments in the leisure and hospitality industry have a positive outlook for the summer. Additional hiring could be attributed to the major resorts in Central Oregon. Each has reported that it expects to hire this summer.

In Deschutes County, total nonfarm payroll decreased by 6.6 percent over the past two years. The county has seen year-over-year job losses for 17 months. However, employment in leisure and hospitality is not following this trend, as shown in the graph.


In years past, the largest annual increases in leisure and hospitality employment occurred between April and June. If employment levels continue to rise even slightly, it will be a bright spot in a county with 300 days of sunshine.

Read the full article, written by Central Oregon Regional Economist Carolyn Eagan.