Private and Public Shares of Oregon Employment Have Changed Little Since 1992

Last week we released long-term employment projections to 2022 for Oregon and its regional areas. We update the projections every two years to account for changes in the economy; each release tends to generate several follow-up questions.

One question we fielded this week: how have the public and private shares of Oregon's total employment changed over time?

The quick answer: little. 

The shares of public and private employment in Oregon have remained pretty consistent over at least the past 20 years (comparable data only go back to 1990). Four out of five jobs in the state were in privately owned firms in 1992, 2002, and 2012. Our projections show that roughly four in five jobs in the state will still be at private firms in 2022.

The full details on Oregon's latest long-term employment projections can be found at QualityInfo.org by selecting a region from the map on the home page, then selecting the Publications tab.