Oregon's Employment Projections 2010-2020

Every other year, the Oregon Employment Department undertakes the task of projecting industry and occupational employment 10 years into the future. They are not calculated in order to pinpoint precise employment levels 10 years down the road, but rather to point students, job seekers, career changers, counselors, planners, policy makers, business leaders, and others in the right direction when making career planning decisions.

The Oregon Employment Department's 2010 to 2020 industry employment forecast predicts that total payroll employment will grow by 18 percent over the decade, adding 298,000 jobs to Oregon's economy. Oregon's private sector will grow by 20 percent over the period while government payrolls will expand by only 7 percent. Oregon's private-sector employers are expected to increase their payrolls by 275,600 jobs over the next 10 years, accounting for 92 percent of all new jobs in the state.

All of Oregon's major industry sectors are anticipated to grow in the coming years, but more than half of all growth is anticipated to occur in the state's three largest industries: educational and health services (+67,500 jobs); trade, transportation, and utilities (+50,100 jobs); and professional and business services (+49,100 jobs). Oregon's manufacturing sector is expected to add 24,900 jobs over the period while the construction industry adds 18,500.

Examining the rate of growth, rather than the number of jobs gained, shows that construction is expected to be the state's second fastest growing industry over the next decade. Despite the fast growth rate, over the next 10 years Oregon's construction industry is expected to recover just half of the roughly 37,000 jobs that were lost in that industry during the recession. Oregon's manufacturing industry is also not anticipated to reach its pre-recession employment level before the year 2020.

Get more industry projection details in the full article written by our senior economic analyst, Charles Johnson. For regional projections, visit QualityInfo.org, select a region on the map at the top-right corner of the page, and select the Publications tab.