Summer Job Vacancies Reach a New High

Oregon businesses reported 49,600 vacancies this summer. That's 6,700 more vacancies than last summer and the most found by any Oregon Job Vacancy Survey, which began in the spring of 2008. The growing number of vacancies reflects the busy summer hiring season and long-term improvement in the job market.

Three large industries reported more than 5,000 vacancies apiece: health care and social assistance (10,800); management, administrative and waste services (10,400); and leisure and hospitality (5,400). Although these few industries accounted fore more than half of all vacancies, employers were looking to fill openings across a wide range of occupations this summer. The occupational groups with the most vacancies were food preparation, office and administrative support, health care, and construction. Compared with last year, the number of vacancies increased the most for health care (+8,400) and construction-related (+3,900) occupations.

Employers had a slightly more difficult time filling job vacancies this summer. Since the spring of 2013, difficult-to-fill vacancies have made up roughly half of the total. In the summer of 2014, that share was 58 percent for Oregon statewide. Central and Eastern Oregon each reported three out of four vacancies (74%) were difficult to fill.

You can find more information about job vacancies in Oregon through the Quarterly Job Vacancy Survey Snapshot available at QualityInfo.org!