Multimedia Artists and Animators – An Emerging Occupation in Oregon

Employment of multimedia artists and animators in Oregon has increased rapidly over the past decade, with further job growth expected in the next 10 years. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon has one of the highest concentrations of multimedia artists and animators in the country, coming in third behind Georgia and California.

Multimedia artists and animators create visual effects and animations for television, movies, video games, advertising, and other media. Many artists and animators are employed in the information industry, including motion picture and sound recording industries and software publishing.

In 2014, 70 percent of Oregon’s multimedia artists and animators were employed in the Portland metro area (Multnomah and Washington counties). The Portland area is also expected to add the most jobs in this occupation through 2024, with a projected growth rate of 19 percent. Just over half of the job openings in the Portland metro area will be new growth opportunities. The other job openings are replacement positions due to employees changing jobs or retiring.

Multimedia artists and animators make above-average wages in Oregon. The 2015 annual average wage for this occupation was $63,203, compared with the annual average of $46,899 for all occupations in Oregon. Workers in the Portland metro area make slightly more, with an average wage of $78,754 in 2016. This places the Portland area in the top 10 highest paying metropolitan areas for artists and animators in the nation.

Read the full article "From Pencils to Pixels: Oregon’s Multimedia Artists and Animators", written by Workforce Analyst Emily Starbuck.