Oregon bakers put bread on the table, literally

Bakers mix and bake ingredients to produce breads and other baked goods. Job duties and skills can vary widely depending on whether a bakery is a manufacturing facility, or the local bakery down the street.

Bakers can be found at every level of food production and service. The baker working down the street at your local patisserie will prepare and mix ingredients according to a recipe. A baker working at a manufacturing facility will make standardized baked goods using large-volume mixing and baking equipment.

In 2009, half of Oregon bakers earned less than $12 an hour. More experienced bakers, or those running their own bakeries, have higher earnings potential. Ten percent of Oregon bakers earned more than $20 an hour in 2009.

The Oregon Employment Department estimates there were just over 2,400 bakers in Oregon in 2008. The chart below shows the distribution of Oregon's bakers across industries. Many opposing factors will affect employment opportunities for bakers, but the outlook for bakers in Oregon is far better than the national picture. The Oregon Employment Department projects employment for bakers will increase 10 percent between 2008 and 2018.



More details available in the full article, written by research analyst Jason Payton (503-947-1256 Jason.M.Payton@state.or.us).