Help Wanted in Oregon: Results from the Summer 2014 Job Vacancy Survey
Oregon had roughly 49,600 vacancies in Summer 2014. Snapshot of Oregon Job Vacancies Summer 2014 Vacancies 49,580 Average Hourly Wage $15.81 Full-time Positions 76% Permanent Positions 87% Requiring Education Beyond High School 31% Requiring Previous Experience 75% Difficult to Fill 58% Surveyed 2,400 private employers with two or more employees Found the greatest number of vacancies since the Oregon Job Vacancy Survey began in the spring of 2008.
The number of unemployed Oregonians remains much larger than the number of job vacancies. There were 137,000 unemployed Oregonians in July 2014 and 49,600 job vacancies reported by employers. That s 3 unemployed people for each private sector vacancy. One year ago there were 4 unemployed for each vacancy.
Health care and management, administrative, and waste services had the most job vacancies this summer. Oregon Job Vacancies by Industry, Summer 2014 Industry Vacancies All Industries 49,580 Health care and social assistance 10,805 Management, administrative, and waste services 10,440 Leisure and hospitality 5,399 Retail trade 4,198 Natural resources and mining 3,135 Transportation, warehousing, and utilities 3,055 Construction 2,971 Manufacturing 2,815 Professional, scientific, and technical services 2,101 Wholesale trade 1,677 Other services 1,671 Financial activities 878 Information 332 Private educational services 103 Management, administrative, and waste services includes temporary help agencies, call centers, and others. The top three industries accounted for more than half (54%) of all vacancies in the summer.
Food preparation and administrative workers topped the list of occupations in demand. Oregon Job Vacancies by Occupation Group, Summer 2014 Occupation Group Vacancies All Occupations 49,580 Food Preparation and Serving Related 5,236 Office and Administrative Support 5,004 Health Care Practitioners and Technical 4,728 Construction and Extraction 3,865 Health Care Support 3,689 Production 3,362 Sales and Related 3,264 Personal Care and Service 3,237 Transportation and Material Moving 2,902 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 2,240 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 2,134 Management 1,946 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance 1,785 Community and Social Service 1,727 Business and Financial Operations 1,192 Computer and Mathematical 1,029 Protective Service 733 Architecture and Engineering 679 Education, Training, and Library 515 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 292 Life, Physical, and Social Science 21 The combined health care occupations accounted for the most vacancies (8,400).
Half of all summer vacancies were found in midsized firms. Oregon Job Vacancies by Firm Size, Summer 2014 Number of Employees Vacancies All Firms 49,580 2-19 14,119 20-99 24,795 100+ 10,666
The Oregon Job Vacancy Survey captures information for five broad sub state areas. Survey Region Eastern Oregon Northwest/Willamette Valley Portland Tri-County Region Southwest Oregon Central Oregon Counties Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, Tillamook, Yamhill Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Sherman, Wasco, Wheeler 7
More vacancies were found outside the Portland area than at this time last year. Oregon Job Vacancies by Geography Difficult to fill job vacancies were slightly more prevalent in the summer, especially east of the Cascades. Difficult Vacancies to Fill Oregon Statewide 49,580 58% Portland Tri-County 27,025 55% Northwest Oregon/Willamette Valley 12,212 59% Southwest Oregon 4,708 58% Central Oregon 3,488 74% Eastern Oregon 1,345 74% multi-region or unknown area excluded Central Oregon had a relatively low share of fulltime vacancies (50%) compared to Oregon statewide (76%) Eastern Oregon reported a lower share of permanent positions (53%) than found statewide (87%).
Gail Krumenauer, Senior Analyst Oregon Employment Department Gail.K.Krumenauer@oregon.gov (503) 947 1268 Join the conversation: OregonEmployment.blogspot.com Twitter @OrEmployment