Oregon’s Computer Occupations: Working on the Internet of Things

With 50,900 workers in 2016, Oregon ranks 23rd in the nation for total employment in computer and mathematical occupations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics, computer occupations made up nearly 3 percent of Oregon’s total employment in 2016. There are many different computer occupations. One out of four Oregonians employed in a computer-related field in 2016 worked as software developers for computer applications. Computer user support specialists, made up 15 percent of Oregon’s computer-related employment. Thirteen percent of the computer occupation workforce in Oregon were employed in a computer occupation not otherwise specified in the current Standard Occupational Classification system.

Computer occupations in Oregon pay about 1.7 times more than the average for all occupations. However, wages vary across occupations and metro areas. Statewide, computer and information research scientists have an annual average wage of $145,384, while computer user support specialists have an annual average wage of $51,580 – still higher than the statewide average for all occupations. This wage disparity among occupations is due in part to the education requirements for each occupation.

The Oregon Employment Department projects that there will be 16,614 job openings in computer occupations from 2014 to 2024. The majority of openings will be new growth openings, rather than replacement openings for workers leaving the occupation for reasons such as retirement. All computer occupations are projected to grow faster than the statewide average, except for computer programmers, which are projected to grow by 3 percent over the next decade. Software developers will have the most job openings at 3,277 statewide, followed by computer user support specialists with 2,567 job openings.

For more information on Oregon's computer occupations, see the full article written by Workforce Analyst Emily Starbuck.