Turning Point 2020: Oregon's Workforce from Expansion to Pandemic

The Oregon Employment Department Research section released its latest report, Turning Point 2020: Oregon's Workforce from Expansion to Pandemic in June 2020. The report examines Oregon's employment landscape from the end of the state's longest economic expansion to the beginning of COVID-19 related record job losses.  Here is an executive summary:

• Oregon’s unemployment rate rose from a near-record-low 3.5 percent, as revised, in March to a record-high 14.2 percent in April, as COVID-19 business closures shut down a large portion of the economy.

• Oregon’s payroll employers shed nearly 270,000 jobs during March and April. One out of every eight jobs in Oregon was idled or lost in just two months.

• From March 15 through May 16, 2020, the Oregon Employment Department received about 412,000 initial claims for traditional Unemployment Insurance. Job losses were concentrated among younger, lower-wage workers with high school educations or less.

• Oregon’s economy faces many of the same demographic challenges seen across the nation, such as the aging of the workforce and baby boomer retirements, fewer young people participating in the labor force, and slower job growth in rural areas.

• The number of unemployed Oregonians was at a record low in early 2020 – still, amidst the lowest unemployment rates on record in Oregon, one out of five unemployed Oregonians had been unemployed for six months or longer.

• Today, nearly one out of four Oregon workers is age 55 or older, adding up to nearly 439,000 workers in 2018. Of those workers 124,000 were age 65 years and older and working past the traditional age of retirement.

• Oregon’s rural areas tend to have an older population and workforce. Many of these workers are planning to retire in the next 10 years, taking their skills and experience with them. This will adversely impact employers unless they can recruit skilled workers from other areas to sustain the size of their current workforce and fuel their local economies.

• By 2019 the number of jobs in rural Oregon had barely budged above the levels seen back in 2001; rural Oregon gained just 16,000 jobs, adding 7 percent. The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro outpaced the rest of the state, with a 25 percent gain between 2001 and 2019, amounting to an additional 247,000 jobs. All other metro areas combined gained 23 percent, adding 117,000 jobs.

To learn more about this turning point in our economy, read the full report here. 

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.

Oregon Employment Forecast: Slow and Stable

Entering its eleventh year, the U.S. economic expansion is now the longest in recorded history. Growth slowed in 2019, and the burning question is why? Economic weakness – foretelling a recession – or simply what one might expect in such a mature expansion?

The answer likely lies somewhere in between. Business investment has been weak to nonexistent over the past year. The trade war, tariffs, slowing global growth, and the political climate have hurt sales and created an atmosphere of uncertainty. On the other hand, incomes are rising, inflation is low, and consumer spending is strong. In addition, the economy is at, or near, full employment, which also explains the subdued job growth.

The bottom line is that the U.S. economy remains in expansion mode and while the slowdown in business spending is cause for concern, it does not necessarily portend an imminent recession.

Oregon

Like the nation, Oregon continues to add jobs at a slower pace as our economy transitions from the peak rates of a few years ago to a more sustainable pace today. Oregon’s slowdown points more to labor supply constraints than to economic weakness, according to the latest forecast from the Office of Economic Analysis (OEA). Employers have a dwindling pool to draw from when trying to fill jobs, thus dampening what might have been more robust job creation.

Meanwhile income is rising. In 2018, Oregon’s median household income grew faster than every state except Idaho. After decades of lagging the nation, OEA points out that the typical Oregonian’s household income is now 2.4 percent higher than their national counterparts.

Like the nation, the outlook is positive. OEA expects the state will add 28,200 jobs in 2020 (1.5%), or 2,400 jobs a month; about the same as in 2019. While this is significantly slower than the 4,000-to-5,000 jobs per month of a few years ago, it is enough to absorb new workers entering the labor force given our decelerating population growth.

The public sector will outperform its recent past across most components: Local government will grow as revenues continue to improve in step with the economy, and the federal component will benefit from Census hiring. Private education and health services also accelerates, primarily the healthcare component as our population continues to grow and age. Professional and business services rebounds from its recent slump and adds more jobs than all other broad industries.

OEA expects several industries to slow or lose jobs in 2020. The manufacturing sector turns negative, weighed down by trade issues, global risks, and the announced closure of two NORPAC food processing plants. Construction also decelerates even as the housing rebound continues; growth rates topping 8 percent in recent years are simply unsustainable. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector settles down after the Amazon surge of the past few years, which saw thousands of jobs created in the warehousing component.

While growth should continue in 2020, the next recession is a matter of when, not if. Outside of unforeseen financial or geopolitical shocks, it is unlikely to happen within the next year.

To learn more, read Regional Economist Amy Vander Vliet's full article here.

Unwrapping Holiday Hiring: From Bricks to Clicks

Retailers and package delivery companies rely on the holiday season to provide an end-of-year boost in sales that makes operating during the rest of the year worthwhile. Some businesses hire extra workers, often on a temporary basis, to get them through this busy time of year. In 2018, the number of jobs added by “holiday hiring” industries with strong holiday employment patterns was lower than average. The season’s traditional holiday buildup was smaller than usual among retailers. The new leaders in holiday hiring are couriers and messengers (UPS, FedEx, etc.), postal services, and health and personal care stores.

Oregon’s job buildup in industries with strong holiday employment patterns was 8,929 (or 7%) in 2018, which was lower than the average buildup of more than 11,200 (9%) since 2001. The “holiday buildup” is one way to measure holiday hiring activity. The holiday buildup table shows the net job gain in industries where employment grows during the holiday season and is cut soon after the New Year. Holiday buildups since 2001 ranged from a high of about 15,000 (13%) in 2005 to a financial crisis-induced low of less than half that in 2008. The October through December jobs buildup in the holiday hiring industries that year fell to 7,077, just 6 percent more than September’s level and far below the historical average buildup of 9 percent. Holiday hiring in 2018 was close to the lows seen in 2008 and 2009.

Bricks to Clicks

The data above can seem a little scary. Are we heading towards the next recession? Are employers having so much trouble finding workers during a time of low unemployment that hiring has slowed? It is possible, and these two factors could both be happening and impacting holiday hiring together. However, slow holiday hiring could also be attributed to the changing nature of retail. The holiday hiring retail industries included in this article are based on the March 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics article Holiday Season Hiring in Retail Trade, with jobs at postal services (both private and federal) and couriers and messengers added to give a more complete picture of industries with strong holiday hiring patterns.

In the past 10 years, technology has advanced quickly and online shopping has expanded, impacting the economy greatly. Everything from groceries to holiday presents can be ordered online and delivered within days, if not hours. It is highly possible that because more people are doing their shopping online, traditional “brick and mortar” retailers do not need to hire as much as they did in previous holiday seasons and industries more closely related with “e-commerce” are hiring more workers.

To analyze this, the traditional holiday hiring industries can be divided between brick and mortar industries and e-commerce industries, and a sector that has been booming in Oregon recently, warehousing and storage, can be added to the e-commerce mix. Industries in the warehousing and storage subsector are primarily engaged in operating warehousing and storage facilities for general merchandise, refrigerated goods, and other warehouse products. These establishments provide facilities to store goods.

When the warehousing and storage sector is added, the picture of holiday hiring looks completely different. In total, holiday hiring (the buildup of employment between September and December) looks steady from 2010 (post Great Recession) on, with holiday hires ranging from 10,298 in 2013 to 12,180 in 2014. What is really changing is the percentage of holiday hiring that falls in the brick and mortar areas as compared with the e-commerce areas. In 2001, 74.7 percent of holiday hiring took place in the sectors found in the brick and mortar category and by 2010, it represented 68.9 percent. However, in 2018 traditional brick and mortar holiday hiring represented only 43.8 percent, while e-commerce hiring had grown to 56.2 percent of all holiday hiring. Holiday hiring is still happening at similar levels as before, it just appears to be happening in different sectors.

2019’s Wish List

Holiday buildups inevitably lead to corresponding post-holiday declines in the number of workers needed as businesses adjust back to the usual sales pace. As a group, the holiday hiring industries are growing slower than the overall economy. This suggests that not all of the jobs added in the 2019 holiday season will stick around in 2020.

It’s difficult to know what future seasonal hiring patterns of retailers will be as consumers make more of their purchases online. We won’t know how this season’s holiday hiring compares with prior years until sometime in the New Year, but a peek at the employment forecast provides a hint about what the future will bring. The September 2019 employment forecast from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) expects Oregon’s retail trade employment to grow in the fourth quarter of 2019 by just 400 jobs. OEA expects the transportation, warehousing, and utilities industry to remain unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2019. These forecasts are for the entire retail trade sector and much more than warehousing and storage in the transportation, warehousing, and utilities industry, not just the industries with a lot of holiday hiring, but the implication is that the holiday buildup will be below average this year in these areas.

Read Economist Anna Johnson's full article here.

Oregon's Aging Principal Farm Producers

According to the 2017 Agricultural Census, Oregon’s farm acreage totaled about 16 million in 2017, with 37,616 farms and 67,595 producers. The age of an Oregon principal farm producer averaged 58.9 years in 2017. Wheeler County’s farm producers led the state, averaging 63.7 years of age, while Harney County’s represented the youngest, at 55.6 on average. By age group, producers ages 55 to 64 led Oregon in 2017, representing about 29 percent of all principal farm producers. The 65 to 74 age group followed closely, representing more than one out of four producers or 26 percent. Producers in the 75 years and over group totaled 6,511 to represent 12 percent of Oregon’s total. Together, farmers age 55 and older represented 66 percent of Oregon’s principal farm producers. This compares to 23 percent of workers across all other industries in the same year.

The term producer designates a person who is involved in making decisions for the farm operation. Decisions may include planning about such things as planting, harvesting, livestock management, and marketing. The producer may be the owner, a member of the owner’s household, a hired manager, a tenant, a renter, or a sharecropper. A principal producer is a producer who indicated they were a principal operator. A farm can have multiple principal producers. Each farm has at least one principal producer. 

There were 54,450 principal producers in 2017 with a 60/40 split between males, numbering 32,903 and females, at 21,547. Principal producers were also asked whether their primary occupation was farming. The majority of principal producers, 57 percent, worked off the farm, spending less than 50 percent of his/her work time during 2017 farming or ranching. The remaining 43 percent of principal producers spent 50 percent or more of his/her work time during 2017 farming or ranching, making their primary occupation farming. 

The vast majority of principal producers, 47,595 or 87 percent, lived on the farm. Principal producers spend an average of 20.2 years at the same operation and an average of 22.5 years operating any farm. Principal producers in Gilliam County spent an average 24.1 years at the same farm, followed closely by Sherman County’s 23.3 years. Principal producers in Deschutes County, with an average tenure of 15.5 years, represented the new comers.

To learn more about Oregon's farms, revenues, and crops, read the full article by Regional Economist Dallas Fridley. 

Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Matches Record Low of 4.0 Percent in July

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in July, the same as the revised June rate of 4.0 percent. This was Oregon’s lowest unemployment rate in the current series dating back to 1976. It tied the 4.0 percent unemployment rate reached in the state in May, June, and July 2018. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.7 percent in both June and July 2019.

In July, Oregon’s total nonfarm payroll employment added 2,400 jobs, following an over-the-month loss of 1,000 jobs, as revised, in June. Monthly gains for July were strongest in professional and business services (+1,300 jobs); health care and social assistance (+1,100); and construction (+800). Two industries cut more than 1,000 jobs in July: leisure and hospitality (-1,100 jobs) and government (-1,300).

Newly revised payroll employment figures show that there was minimal growth of only 2,000 jobs between December 2018 and March 2019, which was much weaker growth in the first quarter of 2019 than was originally estimated. Oregon’s total nonfarm employment for March is now pegged at 1,931,900 jobs.

Looking at longer-term trends, the new numbers show Oregon’s economy growing moderately for quite some time. Oregon’s over-the-year job growth has averaged 1.6 percent during the past 16 months.

The full press release is available here.

Oregon Employment Forecast: Growth Ongoing, But Slowing

The U.S. economic expansion turned 10 years old this summer, making it the longest expansion in recorded history. Oregon’s expansion also continues, although our job growth is no longer handily outpacing the nation as had been the case for most of the past six years. Not to worry, as growth remains strong enough to keep up with population gains and hold the unemployment rate down at record lows.

Early this year, the word ‘recession’ began creeping back into forecasters’ lexicon when they discussed the U.S. economic outlook. Soft data in the form of a December stock market correction and weakness in retail sales, housing, and manufacturing, combined with the government shutdown and policy concerns, had raised fears that the economy was on the cusp of another recession. But most indicators revived in the spring, consumer spending remains strong, and incomes are rising. The economy is back on firmer ground and talk of an imminent recession has somewhat subsided.That said, the outlook calls for slowing growth this year and next, both nationally and locally. In Oregon, forecasters from the Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) expect the state will add 39,800 jobs (+2.1%) this year before slowing further in 2020 (32,100 jobs; 1.6%).

Growth will be constrained in part by our tight labor market. Unemployment has been near record lows for nearly three years, and the share of prime working-age Oregonians with a job is back to where it was right before the Great Recession. In other words, most workers who lost their jobs during the recession are now employed, and many who had been sitting on the sidelines have been pulled back into the labor force. So employers must rely even more than usual on their other source of potential employees: people moving into the state. However, migration slowed in 2018 and will likely remain below peak levels (2016-2017) for the foreseeable future, thus limiting job growth.

Find more details in Regional Economist Amy Vander Vliet's full article here.

Company Headquarters Provide Nearly 50,000 Jobs in Oregon

Oregon is home to just two Fortune 500 firms, but that doesn’t mean headquarters aren’t an important part of our economy. This sector, called ‘management of companies’, provides nearly 50,000 jobs that pay a whopping average wage of $119,200; more than twice the average across all industries. While it makes up just 3 percent of Oregon’s total private-sector employment, it generates 7 percent of total payroll.

(Oregon’s two Fortune 500 companies are Nike, ranked 90th in revenues, and Lithia Motors at 265th).

Oregon mirrors the United States in that the vast majority of our headquarters are small: three-quarters employ fewer than 20 people. But the majority of jobs are found in larger companies- more so in Oregon than the nation: 43 percent of the state’s employment is in companies with 500-plus employees compared to 38 percent nationally.

Headquarters span a wide variety of industries. In Oregon, they include truck manufacturing (e.g., Daimler); lumber products (Roseburg Forest Products); health care (Kaiser); auto sales (Lithia); utilities (Portland General Electric); and the vacation rental business (Vacasa, Airbnb).

But sportswear dominates. It’s not just Nike, with well over 10,000 employees at its Beaverton global headquarters. Columbia Sportswear, adidas, Keen, and LaCrosse all have administrative operations in Oregon. In total, sportswear headquarters account for more than one-quarter of sector employment.

The importance of this sector to Oregon’s economy is also reflected in output data. Management of companies contributed 3.2 percent to the state’s gross domestic product in 2018. This is significantly higher than the national average of 1.9 percent, and more than all but three states: Arkansas (4.1%), Minnesota (3.7%), and Rhode Island (3.3%).

Read regional economist Amy Vander Vliet's full article here. 

Fruit of the Vine: Oregon’s Grape and Wine Industry

As Oregon businesses struggled during the Great Recession (2007-2009) and the years to follow, the state’s grape and wine industry flourished. In 2007, there were 792 vineyards and 351 permitted or bonded wineries in the state; by 2009, that number had grown to 835 vineyards and 377 wineries. This growth has accelerated during the post-recessionary period, and by 2017, there were 1,144 vineyards and 769 Oregon wineries, of which 709 were permitted or bonded. Wine grapes ranked ninth on Oregon’s top 20 commodities list for 2017, valued at $171.7 million.

The Oregon Employment Department (OED) records counted 108 firms. For those 108 reporting vineyards, OED records showed an annual average employment of 1,179 with an annual average wage of $29,855. It should be noted that given the seasonal nature of growing, tending, and harvesting wine grapes, growers often use contract and migratory workers, who are not reported under the UI system. Thus, actual vineyard employment could be much higher.

As with vineyard employment data, OED records reflect only those enterprises participating in the UI program. In 2001, OED reported 65 wineries; by 2017, that number had increased to 329 – an increase of roughly 21 wineries per year. Between 2007 and 2009, the depths of the Great Recession, the number of reporting wineries increased from 144 to 170. Total payroll in Oregon’s wineries in 2017 was $110.7 million with an annual average wage of $34,997 (like vineyards, this includes seasonal and part-time workers).

To learn more about the grape and wine industry in Oregon, read Regional Economist Annette Shelton-Tiderman's full article. 

Thanksgiving Fun Facts

In this time of gratitude, we give thanks for you – our readers. We are grateful for the pleasure of providing you with quality information on Oregon’s labor market so that you can make informed choices about your career, business, policy, grant, or project. On behalf of all of us at the Oregon Employment Department, Happy Thanksgiving! For Thanksgiving, we're treating you with some fun facts related to Thanksgiving.

Countries celebrating Thanksgiving and similarly named holidays
Australia (Norfolk Island), Canada, Germany, Grenada, Japan, Liberia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

657
The number of supermarkets and other grocery (except convenience) stores in Oregon in 2017. These establishments are expected to be extremely busy around Thanksgiving as people prepare for their delightful meals.

56
The number of fruit and vegetable markets in Oregon in 2017 ─ a great place to find holiday side dishes.

1,603,635
The number of occupied housing units across Oregon in 2017 ─ potential stops for Thanksgiving dinner.

48,596
The number of multigenerational households in Oregon in 2017. It is possible these households, consisting of three or more generations, will have to purchase large quantities of food to accommodate all the family members sitting around the table for the holiday feast, even if there are no guests. 

240 million
The forecasted number of turkeys raised in the U.S. in 2018 according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. That is down 1.0 percent from the number raised (242.5 million) during 2017.

42.5 million
The forecasted number of turkeys raised in Minnesota in 2018. Minnesota is the top turkey producing state, followed by North Carolina (31.0 million), Arkansas (28.5 million), Indiana (20.5 million), Missouri (17.3 million), and Virginia (17.0 million).

2.1 billion pounds
The total weight of potatoes ─ another popular Thanksgiving side dish ─ harvested in Oregon in 2017. The value of potato harvest in Oregon was $168 million.

49 million pounds
The forecasted weight of cranberries produced in Oregon in 2017. The value of cranberry harvest was $12.8 million. Oregon is one of the top producing cranberry states in the U.S.

Halloween Fun Facts

Happy Halloween! We're treating you with some fun facts related to Halloween festivities.

725,223

The 2017 population of Oregonians under age 15 potentially in search of candy asking "trick or treat?"

1,603,635
The number of households statewide (2017) that children might pass by and/or visit while trick-or-treating

51
The number of confectionary and nut stores in Oregon that sold candy and other confectionary products in 2017

79
The number of sugar and confectionery product manufacturing establishments in Oregon in 2017

395
The number of people employed by manufacturing establishments in Oregon that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2017

$86.79
Average Halloween spending per buyer in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey

318

Oregon's total number of gift and novelty stores in 2017, which includes seasonal Halloween costume stores 

More fun facts about Halloween are available at the Census Bureau’s Facts for Feature and Statistics in Schools.

Most Oregon Employers Have Fewer than 20 Employees

Nine out of 10 private-sector firms in Oregon had fewer than 20 employees in March 2018. Six out of 10 employed fewer than five.

Despite their quantity, smaller firms collectively account for a much smaller share of overall employment than their larger counterparts. For example, the 59.4 percent of firms with one to four employees represented 7.3 percent of covered employment in March 2018 and 6.2 percent of wages in the first quarter of 2018. On the other hand, the 0.3 percent of firms with at least 500 employees accounted for 27.4 percent of private-sector jobs and 35.4 percent of wages.

These distributions tend to remain stable from one year to the next, even as the overall number of firms, employees, and wages expands or contracts. This doesn’t mean that smaller firms are underperforming when it comes to job creation, or that larger firms are experiencing a bonanza. Size of firm data does not provide us with information about the dynamics of job growth. Instead, it offers a snapshot that can help us understand the roles of small and large firms in Oregon’s economy at a specific point in time.

Oregon’s Coffee Shops Continue to Perk Up

According to the National Coffee Association of the U.S.A., which has tracked coffee consumption through annual surveys since 1950, 83 percent of Americans 18 years and older say they drink coffee and 62 percent drink it daily. With such a large majority of Americans drinking coffee, it’s no surprise to find several coffee establishments in cities throughout the state, and sometimes multiple shops on the same block.

Coffee shops and stands are classified in the snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars industry according to the North American Industry Classification System. This industry includes other establishments serving items such as donuts, pretzels, ice cream, and frozen yogurt. In 2016, there were 1,229 establishments in this category with an annual average employment of 13,150. About half of these establishments were located in the Portland metro area.

Though snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars is a small industry, comprising less than 1 percent of total statewide employment, it is a growing industry. Growth in both the number of establishments and employment in the industry has outpaced the average rate of growth for all industries. From 2001 to 2016, the industry’s employment doubled in Oregon, whereas total employment for all industries increased by 15 percent. Similarly, the number of establishments increased by 71 percent compared with 31 percent for all industries. Growth at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars has also outpaced the larger food services and drinking places industry.

To learn more about Oregon coffee shops, see the full article written by workforce analyst Ainoura Oussenbec.

Oregon’s Company Headquarters: Strong Growth

While Oregon is home to just two Fortune 500 companies, that doesn’t mean headquarters don’t have an impact on our economy. Oregon’s 1,300 establishments in the ‘management of companies’ sector employ nearly 47,000 people and pay a whopping average wage of $114,500. And while it’s just 3 percent of Oregon’s private-sector employment, it generates 6.8 percent of the state’s private-sector payroll and contributed 4.5 percent to job growth since the end of the Great Recession.

After growing at about the same pace as the overall economy (private sector) through the first half of the 2000s, the management of companies sector began to pull away right before the Great Recession hit. The state would go on to lose nearly 150,000 jobs, a decline of 8 percent. In contrast, management of companies was resilient. It shed just 1,100 jobs, a decline of 3 percent. And while it took nearly five years for the greater economy to regain all of the jobs lost during the recession, management of companies rebounded in two years. Since the end of the recession, it’s grown nearly twice as fast as the overall economy.

Post-recession growth has also handily outpaced national trends in this sector. Since mid-2010, Oregon’s headquarters expanded by 34 percent; one-and-a-half times faster than the nation’s 22 percent.

To read more about the management of companies, see the full article "Oregon's Company Headquarters: Strong Growth and High Wages", written by Regional Economist Amy Vander Vliet.  

Oregon Business Employment Dynamics Report: First Quarter 2017

Establishments with job gains added 108,577 jobs to the Oregon economy while establishments with job losses reduced employment by 89,507 jobs during the first quarter of 2017. Expanding establishments added 90,747 jobs in the first quarter of 2017 and that expansion exceeded the 75,212 jobs lost due to contracting establishments by 15,535. Opening establishments gained 17,830 jobs which was 3,535 more than the 14,295 jobs lost due to establishments going out of business. The result of the combined jobs gained and lost was an overall increase of 19,070 jobs.

The seasonally adjusted number of Oregon establishments gaining jobs increased by 1,949 (growing from 31,766 to 33,715). At the same time, the number of establishments losing jobs decreased by 1,505 declining from 30,699 to 29,164 establishments. The number of establishments that opened (6,439) was greater than the number of establishments that closed (5,100) resulting in a net establishment gain of 1,339.

Industry sectors posting job gains included: retail trade (3,376), professional and business services (2,278), construction (3,236), education and health services (4,114), leisure and hospitality (2,129), manufacturing (388), wholesale trade (451), financial activities (551), and information (206). Only transportation and warehousing (-716) had fewer jobs in the first quarter of 2017 than during the prior quarter.

Coming out of the Great Recession, total private-sector employment in the retail sector hit a low level of 177,265 employees during the first quarter of 2010. Since then, total retail employment and the net change in employment (gross job gains minus gross job losses) have seen a slow but steady pattern of net job gains. Between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, gross job losses of 10,038 due to business closings and contractions were more than offset by new business openings and existing business expansions of 13,414 jobs, for a net gain of 3,376 jobs.

This article was originally written by Ken Lux, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Coordinator. A more detailed listing of Oregon Business Employment Dynamics data, statewide (all industries) and statewide (by industry sector), is available at www.QualityInfo.org on the Publications page in the Reports & Analysis box.

Most Oregon Employers Have Fewer than 20 Employees

Nine out of 10 private-sector firms in Oregon had fewer than 20 employees in March 2017. Six out of 10 employed fewer than five. Despite their quantity, smaller firms collectively account for a much smaller share of overall employment than their larger counterparts. For example, the 59.4 percent of firms with one to four employees represented 7.5 percent of covered employment and 6.3 percent of wages in March 2017. On the other hand, the 0.3 percent of firms with at least 500 employees accounted for 26.8 percent of private-sector jobs and 35.3 percent of wages.

These distributions tend to remain stable from one year to the next, even as the overall number of firms, employees, and wages expands or contracts. This doesn’t mean that smaller firms are underperforming when it comes to job creation, or that larger firms are experiencing a bonanza. Size of firm data does not provide us with information about the dynamics of job growth. Instead, it offers a snapshot that can help us understand the roles of small and large firms in Oregon’s economy at a specific point in time.

This article was written by economist Felicia Bechtoldt and was originally published on QualityInfo.org.

Oregon’s Employment Transition to Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries

One of the evolving changes in Oregon’s legal marijuana industry is the shift to retail dispensaries. As of January 1, 2017 sales are allowed at licensed recreational retailers. Currently, recreational dispensaries may sell cannabis to both recreational and medical customers, with only recreational customers subject to taxes. Now medical-only dispensaries are only allowed to sell cannabis to those with a medical marijuana card.

In an effort to track payroll employment at marijuana-related businesses, the Oregon Employment Department has created a database of known marijuana-related recreational and medical dispensaries. They use a variety of methods to make this determination including reviewing information provided by the employer, referencing industry registries like the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) license registry, and reading information publicly available online.

According to our most recent information, there were 217 recreational dispensary establishments in Oregon with 2,062 jobs that had an annual average pay of $23,706 in the 1st quarter of 2017. In that same quarter, we had 71 establishments included in the medical dispensary category with 289 jobs that paid an average annual wage of $21,282. Recreational dispensary total payroll in that quarter was $12,270,595. Medical dispensary total payroll was much less, at $1,538,148.

Learn more in the full article written by Regional Economist Guy Tauer. 

Oregon Businesses Report Record 62,625 Vacancies in Spring

Private businesses in Oregon continued their strong hiring demand this spring. They had 62,600 job openings at any given time in the second quarter, the largest quarterly total since we began asking them in 2013.

Here's another sign of a strong labor market: the ratio of unemployed persons to job vacancies hit a record low in Oregon. In spring 2013, there were four unemployed Oregonians per job vacancy in the state. That dropped to a 1-to-1 ratio in spring, and some regions of the state actually had fewer unemployed persons than job openings. Given this, it's probably not surprising that businesses reported having difficulty filling 68 percent of all job vacancies, the highest share reported.

As is usually the case, health care and social assistance reported the most vacancies of any industry (11,300). Job openings included a variety of roles within the industry, including registered nurses, personal care aides, rehabilitation counselors, managers, receptionists, physicians and their assistants, and payroll clerks.

Leisure and hospitality vacancies bounced back up in spring after relatively smaller job opening totals in fall and winter. Construction  posted its highest quarterly job vacancy total (7,800) in the midst of continued, rapid employment growth.

Even though the minimum wage has increased, the bottom of the pay scale (at or just above minimum wage) is not where we see the most growth in job vacancies. The total number of job openings paying less than $15 per hour changed little over the year. Meanwhile, the share paying between $15 and $25 per hour grew from one-fourth of all job vacancies in spring 2016 to one-third of the total in spring 2017. 

Job vacancies for nine sub-state areas are available by clicking on the columns in the graph below.

More information about Oregon's job vacancies can be found in the Job Vacancy Survey section on the Publications page of QualityInfo.org. 

Worker Access to Paid Leave Benefits

In the United States, 68 percent of workers have access to paid sick leave through their employers. A slightly higher share has access to paid vacation (73%) and paid holidays (75%). This access varies between the public and private sectors. In private industry, about two-thirds of workers have access to paid sick leave and just over three-quarters of workers have access to paid vacation and paid holidays. Among state and local government employees, access to paid sick leave (90%) far outweighs access to paid vacation and holidays (59% and 67%, respectively).

These figures come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey, which includes very little detail at the sub-national level. Oregon is grouped with the Pacific West region, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Access to paid leave benefits is a bit more widespread in this area of the country compared with the national average. Three-quarters of workers in the Pacific West region have access to paid sick leave and paid holidays, while 70 percent have access to paid vacation. Access to all paid leave benefits is more prevalent than the national average in the regional public sector, while the region’s private-sector workforce is more likely to have access to paid sick leave (73%) and less likely to have access to paid vacation (71%) and paid holidays (75%).

Full-time workers – those working 35 hours per week or more at their primary job – are far more likely to have access to paid leave benefits than part-time workers. Four out of five full-time workers have access to paid sick leave, and even more have paid vacation and holidays. Among part-time workers, just 31 percent have access to paid sick leave, 35 percent have paid vacation, and 39 percent have paid holidays.

The size of the employer also influences the availability of paid leave benefits. This is especially true in the private sector, while public-sector workers have a tighter range based on employer size. In the private sector, access to paid vacation and holidays improves as the employer size increases – workers at large employers are more likely to have access to these paid leaves than workers at smaller employers. In the public sector, there’s little variation in the availability of paid vacation and holidays by size; workers at smaller government establishments are about as likely as workers at the largest government establishments to be able to enjoy these forms of paid leave.

Read the full article "Worker Access to Paid Leave Benefits", written by Employment Economist Jessica Nelson.

Higher Sales and Wages in Male-Owned Firms

In 2012, the U.S. Census estimates Oregon had 339,000 firms. Of these, 331,000 were classifiable by gender, ethnicity, or race. Men owned half of these firms, while women owned 37 percent, and equally male/female owned businesses made up 13 percent of the total.

Although men’s firm ownership share was proportionate with the state's population (50%), male-owned firms made up 75 percent of all firm sales and receipts in Oregon. Equally male/female owned firms accounted for 13 percent of sales and receipts, the same as the share of total firms. Sales and receipts from female-owned businesses made up a smaller share (12%) of total sales and receipts than their firm ownership share. Oregon’s male-owned firms with payroll employees also paid higher average wages ($39,000) than their female-owned counterparts ($28,600).

This disparity in firm sales and receipts and average wages can be partially attributed to the industry distribution of firms by male and female ownership. Oregon industries with the largest sales, receipts, or value of shipments in 2012 included wholesale trade, retail trade, manufacturing, and construction. The number of male-owned firms in these industries totaled 48,900. By comparison, women owned less than half as many firms (20,900) in these sectors.

Oregon’s top-paying industries also had far more firms owned by men. Male-owned businesses made up 61 percent of the total in management of companies and enterprises, which paid an average of $69,200 in 2012. Men owned roughly two-thirds of all finance and insurance firms ($60,000), as well as all mining and quarrying businesses ($56,400).

Still, in industries where both men and women had high concentrations of firm ownership, the male-owned businesses with payroll employees reported higher average wages. Female-owned retail trade businesses (13,700) outnumbered retail businesses owned by men (12,500). The average wage at the female-owned businesses was $25,300, while the average wage at male-owned retail firms was $28,900.

To learn more about female-owned firms, read Senior Economic Analyst Gail Krumenauer's article "Business Ownership by Gender in Oregon".