Oregon's Total Employment to Grow 12 Percent by 2027

Oregon’s total employment will grow by 245,800 jobs between 2017 and 2027. The 12 percent employment increase includes private-sector gains of 211,700 jobs, growth of 18,000 jobs in government, and an additional 16,100 self-employed Oregonians.

Health Care Leads Job Growth
All private sectors in Oregon are expected to add jobs by 2027. Health care and social assistance will add 49,500 jobs, the most of any sector. It also has the fastest growth rate (20%) of any sector statewide. Professional and business services ranks second in job growth with 41,200 new jobs, while the second fastest-growing industry will be construction (17%). Together these three sectors will account for nearly half of all new jobs in Oregon over the 10-year period.

While overall employment and jobs in many sectors are expected to grow beyond their current peak levels, three sectors will fall short of their peak employment by 2027. Each of these three below-peak sectors consist of different component industries growing in notably different ways.

Some smaller components of manufacturing – such as food (15%) and beverage manufacturing (30%) – show relatively fast projected growth rates. Meanwhile, the relatively larger wood product manufacturing (0.4%) and paper manufacturing (-7%) industries show little net growth or projected declines by 2027.

In financial activities, expected population growth and increased construction is associated with the projected 8 percent gain in real estate jobs. By comparison, financial establishments primarily engaged in deposit banking and extending credit – which account for the bulk of all financial activities – are projected to grow by just 2 percent.

One portion of the information sector consists of the growing software publishing industry, with projected growth of 26 percent by 2027. That’s quite a contrast from projected growth in the other information-related industries. Telecommunications jobs are expected to decline by 4 percent, while newspaper, book, and directory publishers can expect job losses totaling 400 (-12%).

All Industries Need Workers
Slower growing sectors and declining industries still offer many job opportunities. For every one job created by a new or expanding business in Oregon, there will be another nine job openings to replace workers to retire or make a major occupational change. We expect Oregon to have an annual average of 263,000 total job openings, spread across all sectors and all regions of the state.

More information about Oregon's future workforce needs can be found in the full industry summary, written by me, or by exploring the interactive graphs at QualityInfo.org/projections.