Employers Report More than 57,000 Job Vacancies in 2019

Throughout the year, the Oregon Employment Department surveys private employers from all industries and areas of the state to ask about the job vacancies they are actively trying to fill. For each vacancy, the employer provides the job title, starting wage, and education and experience requirements for the job. They also specify whether their vacancies are for full- or part-time positions, and permanent or seasonal jobs. If they face challenges with vacancies, employers also write in the primary reason for difficulty filling their job openings.

Employers reported 57,000 job openings at any given time in 2019. Most vacancies offered full-time (77%) permanent (93%) positions. About one-third (34%) of job vacancies required education beyond high school. The average hourly wage for these vacancies was $18.81. Vacancies with higher education requirements were more likely to require previous experience and offer higher average wages.

Health care and social assistance reported the most vacancies of any industry (11,200), followed by leisure and hospitality (7,700), and retail trade (7,400). Together these three sectors accounted for 46 percent of all job openings statewide. Despite big vacancy totals in a few sectors, hiring demand was widespread across the economy. All sectors, except the relatively small information industry, reported at least 1,000 job vacancies at any given time in the year.

Employers were hiring for a wide variety of jobs; they reported vacancies across 394 different occupations. Occupations with the highest number of job vacancies in 2019 reflected this variety. They included retail salespersons (2,300); personal care aides (2,200 vacancies); laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (1,600); heavy truck drivers (1,600); cashiers (1,400); fast food and counter workers (1,300); and registered nurses (1,200).

To learn more, read economist Jessica Nelson's full article here.