Executive Summary. Almost one-fourth of those job vacancies went unfilled for two months or longer.

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Oregon Job Job in the Portland Metro Area Lynn Wallis, Workforce Analyst, Lynn.N.Wallis@state.or.us, (971) 673-6453 October 2008 About the Survey Helping Oregonians find good jobs requires taking a close look at the staffing needs of business.

Why are companies having difficulty filling these positions? The May 2008 Job Vacancy Survey was designed to help answer these questions.

nature of current job openings. Essentially, we asked Portland Metro area businesses if they had a Help Wanted sign in the window and to tell us a little bit about their job openings.

1 Oregon Job Job in the Portland Metro Area Lynn Wallis, Workforce Analyst, (971) October 2008 About the Survey Helping Oregonians find good jobs requires taking a close look at the staffing needs of business. Every job opening represents an opportunity for someone to gain experience, begin a career, or supplement their family s income. Which businesses are hiring? What positions are going unfilled? Why are companies having difficulty filling these positions? The May 2008 Job Vacancy Survey was designed to help answer these questions. Thousands of firms in Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon, plus Clark County in Washington State were contacted about their immediate workforce needs and the nature of current job openings. Essentially, we asked Portland Metro area businesses if they had a Help Wanted sign in the window and to tell us a little bit about their job openings. The goal is to help all the partners in the economy businesses, schools, training providers, policy makers, and job seekers see where the available workforce may be falling short. Asking about the workforce needs of Portland Metro businesses is the first step in an ongoing process to improve awareness of available jobs in the community. The next steps are to listen to and understand what local businesses are saying and to work together to address challenges. The objective of the survey, and this report, is to contribute to that process. Executive Summary In May 2008, there were an estimated 26,222 job vacancies in the Portland Metro area (Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, and Clark counties). Almost one-fourth of those job vacancies went unfilled for two months or longer. Many occupations had vacancies. The 25 occupations with the most vacancies represented only twofifths of all area job vacancies, suggesting a wide range of occupations have unfilled vacancies. The health care, professional and technical, retail trade, and accommodation and food services industries had the most job vacancies. Combined, these four industries represented nearly one-half of all Portland Metro vacancies. On average, 43 percent of vacancies require education beyond high school and 52 percent require a license or certificate. There are significant differences between educational requirements among particular industries. For example, a large share of vacancies (65% to 82%) in health care, management of companies, educational services, information, and professional and technical industries required education beyond high school. A much smaller portion (2% to 7%) of vacancies in accommodation and food services, retail trade, and agriculture required education beyond high school. Of the vacancies with wage information, 29 percent paid a wage of at least $20 an hour. There were 29 percent of vacancies paying less than $10 an hour. Top 25 Jobs in Demand The top jobs in demand in the Portland Metro area represent a wide range of occupations and skill levels. Registered nurses had, by far, the largest number of vacancies (1,922) representing 7 percent of all job vacancies. The next largest job vacancies were for retail salespersons (797), laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (603), nursing aides (596), and customer service representatives (545). No other single occupation represented over 2 percent of total vacancies, indicating a wide range of positions in the area going unfilled. Almost one-fourth of all job vacancies have existed for 60 or more days. Occupations in construction, production, personal care services, food services, and transportation had much higher rates of long-term vacancy. Job by Industry Health care, professional and technical, retail trade, and accommodation and food services had the most job vacancies. These four industries represented almost one-half of all Portland Metro vacancies.

2 Oregon Job October 2008 Table 1 Top 25 Occupations in the Portland Metro Area With the Highest Number of Job, May 2008 Share of Total Vacant 60+ Days Occupation All Occupations 26, % 24% Registered Nurses 1, % 21% Retail Salespersons % 24% Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand % 73% Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants % 42% Customer Service Representatives % 12% Waiters and Waitresses % 14% Cashiers % 14% Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer % 35% General and Operations Managers % 12% Stock Clerks and Order Fillers % 31% Cooks, Restaurant % 3% Computer Software Engineers, Applications % 11% Computer Systems Analysts % 4% Maintenance and Repair Workers, General % 21% Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food % 76% Computer Programmers % 7% Food Preparation Workers % 18% Computer Support Specialists % 11% Construction Laborers % 98% Physical Therapists % 29% Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers % 93% Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational % 12% Mechanical Engineers % 6% Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists % 92% Accountants and Auditors % 20% Table 2 Portland Metro Job by Industry, May 2008 Industry All Industries 26,222 2% 43% 52% Health Care and Social Assistance 6,007 0% 65% 81% Professional and Technical 2,359 0% 82% 28% Retail Trade 2,184 1% 6% 30% Accommodation and Food Services 2,107 1% 2% 63% al Services 1,917 1% 70% 79% Manufacturing 1,829 3% 39% 25% Administrative and Waste Services 1,814 13% 14% 16% Finance and Insurance 1,617 1% 51% 51% Other Services 1,003 2% 27% 61% Management of Companies 988 2% 67% 47% Transportation and Warehousing 971 2% 17% 55% Information 770 6% 71% 32% Wholesale Trade 736 1% 33% 52% Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 715 4% 11% 25% Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 609 7% 10% 52% Construction 433 1% 23% 45% Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing 163 7% 7% 13% that require education beyond high school made up 43 percent of all open jobs, while more than half of all vacancies required a license or certificate. The health care industry had the most job vacancies that required a license or certificate, at 81 percent, suggesting that training is a significant part of the hiring challenge. Conversely, only 2 percent of openings in the accommodation and food services sector, 6 percent of openings in retail trade, and 7 percent of openings in agriculture required education beyond a high school diploma. 2

3 Oregon Job October 2008 Only 2 percent of all job vacancies were newly created positions, suggesting that the vast majority of job openings are created by turnover rather than economic growth. Thirteen percent of administrative and waste services industry jobs were newly created positions, the highest of any industry. Graph 1 70% 60% 50% Share of Portland Metro Job High School by Size of Firms, May 2008 Job by Size of Business Companies with 100 or more employees accounted for more than half (58%) of all vacancies. The overall job vacancy rate, the number of vacancies divided by the number of filled jobs, was 2.6 percent. Firms with fewer than 20 employees had a less than 1.0 percent vacancy rate, while firms with more than 100 employees had a 5.3 percent vacancy rate. Table 3 Firms having 250 or more workers required education beyond high school for nearly two-thirds of their vacancies. Job vacancies at smaller companies were less likely to require education beyond high school. Job by About 90 percent of the vacancies reported by firms included information on educational requirements. Of these, 47 percent required at least some college. Job openings that require more education are more likely to be full time. Only 51 percent of vacancies with no educational requirement were full-time positions compared to 89 percent of jobs requiring a bachelor s degree. 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Number of Employees Vacancy Rate* Full-Time Permanent Total 26, % 72% 89% 2% 43% 52% 72% < % 68% 93% 3% 21% 52% 61% , % 66% 86% 2% 23% 45% 55% , % 56% 69% 7% 26% 38% 50% , % 77% 92% 2% 42% 49% 77% , % 76% 92% 1% 38% 50% 69% 250 and up 7, % 76% 96% 1% 63% 64% 87% * divided by employment in first quarter 2008 Graph 2 Job 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 <10 10 to to to to and up Employees Portland Metro Job by Firm Size, May Portland Metro Job by al Requirement, May 2008 No Requirement Some College Assoc./Voc. Degree Bachelor's Degree Graduate Degree Other 3

4 Oregon Job October 2008 Of the roughly 6,600 vacancies that have no educational requirement, about 2,240 vacancies (34%) required previous work experience. Job by Wage Table 4 Information on wages offered was included for 48 percent of the reported vacancies. Within this group, almost two-thirds (60%) of job openings paid from $7.95 to $14.99 an hour, while 29 percent paid $20 or more an hour. Not surprisingly, job openings that pay higher wages were much more likely to require post-secondary education. More than 90 percent of all job openings paying $25 an hour or more required some education beyond high school, compared to only 5 percent of jobs paying less than $10 an hour. Portland Metro Job by Required Level, May 2008 Required Level Full-time Permanent Total 26,222 72% 89% 2% 52% 72% No Requirement 6,596 51% 74% 5% 33% 34% 5,124 69% 90% 2% 51% 76% Some College 1,149 77% 88% 3% 39% 77% Assoc./Voc. Degree 2,446 73% 95% 1% 83% 93% Bachelor's Degree 6,312 89% 98% 1% 52% 96% Graduate Degree 1,354 81% 96% 1% 85% 98% Other % 97% 2% 82% 46% No Response 2,321 85% 93% 0% 48% 76% Graph 3 $20.00 to $24.99 Portland Metro Job by Hourly Wage, May 2008 $25.00 to $29.99 $30 and up $7.95 to $9.99 Job by Occupational Group Job openings exist in every occupational group. The group with $15.00 to $19.99 $10.00 to $14.99 Table 5 Wage (per hour) Portland Metro Job by Hourly Wage Range, May 2008 Full-time Permanent Total 26,222 72% 89% 2% 43% 52% 72% $ $9.99 3,605 30% 65% 6% 5% 31% 23% $10 - $ ,930 69% 87% 4% 20% 47% 59% $15 - $ ,406 89% 91% 3% 53% 49% 90% $20 - $ ,245 72% 71% 7% 61% 57% 87% $25 - $ ,103 68% 99% 2% 92% 82% 96% $30 and up 1,242 72% 97% 3% 98% 78% 99% Unspecified 13,691 83% 96% 0% 48% 54% 81% 4

5 Oregon Job October 2008 the most vacancies was healthcare practitioners and technical at 3,691 vacancies. This group includes occupations such as dentists, physicians, and registered nurses and is consistent with the relatively large number of vacancies in the health care and social assistance industry seen elsewhere in this report. The second largest group office and administrative support cuts across almost every industry. Graph 4 100% 80% 60% 40% Share of Portland Metro Job by Hourly Wage Range, May 2008 A few occupational groups stand out as having an unusually high share of openings that were vacant for 60 days or longer. With the exception of legal occupations, most of the occupations having a high percentage of vacancies over 60 days construction and extraction, production, transportation and material moving, and personal care and service did not require postsecondary education. 20% 0% Conclusion $7.95 to $9.99 $10.00 to $14.99 The May 2008 survey of Portland Metro businesses in Clackamas, $15.00 to $19.99 $20.00 to $24.99 $25.00 to $29.99 $30 and up Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington found Table 6 Portland Metro Job by Occupational Group, May 2008 Occupational Group Full-time Vacant 60+ Days All Occupational Groups 26,222 72% 24% 43% 52% 72% FoHealthcare Practitioners and Technical 3,691 68% 22% 80% 96% 97% O Office and Administrative Support 2,522 73% 14% 20% 29% 74% SaManagement 2,311 93% 14% 72% 42% 91% TrFood Preparation and Serving 2,225 43% 19% 2% 76% 33% MSales and Related 1,970 53% 27% 15% 22% 51% FaTransportation and Material Moving 1,712 59% 47% 1% 49% 40% P Computer and Mathematical 1,699 97% 8% 88% 27% 96% EdBusiness and Financial Operations 1,259 96% 21% 71% 39% 94% C Production 1,162 86% 48% 11% 14% 55% H Architecture and Engineering 1,137 97% 14% 82% 36% 91% Pe, Training, and Library 1,025 72% 11% 84% 80% 89% B Healthcare Support % 34% 49% 90% 78% InPersonal Care and Service % 41% 6% 54% 36% A Construction and Extraction % 73% 7% 32% 39% B Installation, Maintenance, and Repair % 30% 11% 45% 77% C Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media % 13% 45% 38% 91% P Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance % 12% 2% 25% 47% A Community and Social Services % 20% 72% 86% 90% C Protective Service % 8% 8% 64% 70% Li Life, Physical, and Social Science % 8% 85% 71% 96% LeFarming, Fishing, and Forestry % 0% 0% 0% 15% Legal % 43% 93% 63% 100% 5

6 an estimated 26,222 job vacancies, of which almost one-fourth had been unfilled for two or more months. Long-term vacancies were especially common in construction, production, personal care services, and transportation occupations. spanned a wide range of occupations, with registered nurse positions and retail salespersons topping the list. Industries with the most job vacancies included health care, professional and technical, and retail trade. These three industry sectors made up 40 percent of all vacancies in the area. Large firms, high-wage offers, and professional related industries were more likely to require education beyond high school. The Portland Metro s vacancies spanned a wide range of hourly wages, with nearly one-third paying less than $10 per hour and almost Reports are available for the following regions: one-third paying $20 or more per hour. paying higher hourly wages were more likely to require education beyond high school. Central Oregon/Columbia Gorge (Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Sherman, Wasco, and Wheeler counties) Eastern Oregon (Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties) Oregon Coast (Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Lincoln, and Tillamook counties) Portland Metro Area (Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon, plus Clark County in Washington) Southern Oregon (Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine counties) Willamette Valley (Benton, Lane, Linn, Marion, and Polk counties) Oregon statewide To request copies, contact lmipubs.emp@state.or.us or (503) Oregon Job Oregon Job is published by the Workforce & Economic Research Division of the Oregon Employment Department. Oregon Job can be found under Publications on OED s labor market information Web site, State of Oregon EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT 875 Union Street NE Salem, Oregon Laurie Warner, Director Graham Slater, Administrator for Workforce & Economic Research Production Team: Art Ayre Nick Beleiciks Jim Lee Paul Marche Mark Miller Jessica Nelson Kathi Riddell Graham Slater Address changes: Workforce & Economic Research 875 Union Street NE, Rm 207 Salem, OR or phone (503) , TDD , lmipubs.emp@state.or.us Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Please credit Oregon Job, Oregon Employment Department. Any information on individual companies comes from nonconfidential published sources. WorkSource Oregon is an equal opportunity employer/program. WorkSource Oregon es un programa/empleador que respeta la igualdad de oportunidades. RSPUB (1008)

Job Vacancies in the Portland Tri-County Area Lynn Wallis, Workforce Analyst, (971)

Job Vacancies in the Portland Tri-County Area Lynn Wallis, Workforce Analyst, (971) Oregon Job Job in the Portland Tri-County Area Lynn Wallis, Workforce Analyst, Lynn.N.Wallis@state.or.us, (971) 673-6453 October 2009 About the Survey Helping Oregonians find good jobs requires taking