Growing Demand And Workforce Needs In Oregon’s Health Care And Social Assistance Sector (Photo) -06/26/25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2025

 

Health care and social assistance is a large and steadily growing sector of Oregon’s economy. Although overall job growth slowed recently in Oregon, gains have accelerated in the health care and social assistance sector.  

• In 2024, Oregon employers added 5,700 jobs (+0.3%) to nonfarm payrolls. By comparison, private health care and social assistance added 16,100 jobs (+5.7%) from 2023 to 2024, to reach an all-time high of 301,000 jobs.
• From 2001 to 2024, total nonfarm employment in Oregon grew by 24%. At the same time, private health care and social assistance grew by 92%.

Private health care and social assistance employers reported the largest number of job openings among all sectors of Oregon’s economy for most of the past 12 years. As job growth has accelerated, so has the sector’s share of all job vacancies in Oregon.

• Prior to the pandemic recession, health care and social assistance generally accounted for one out of every five private-sector job openings.
• In 2024, the sector’s share rose to nearly one-third (32%) of all job vacancies. Private health care and social assistance had an average of 18,200 job openings at any given time during the year.
• Personal care aides and registered nurses had the largest number of health care job openings in 2024. They also had the largest number of vacancies reported by employers as difficult to fill.

Health care and social assistance will also lead future job growth in Oregon. Total employment is expected to grow by 170,000 jobs (or 8%) between 2023 and 2033. Health care and social assistance is projected to grow by 13%, adding 37,000 jobs.

• One out of every five new jobs added in Oregon by 2033 will be in health care and social assistance.
• Seven of the 15 fastest-growing occupations in Oregon over the decade are related to health care. They include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical health and services managers, veterinarians, and veterinary assistants and technicians.

Employers will also need to replace workers who retire, otherwise leave the labor force, or make major occupational changes away from health care and social assistance. Adding these replacement job openings to projected growth, health care and social assistance will average nearly 38,000 total job openings each year through 2033. Growth expectations in future years could be hindered by increasing retirements, or an insufficient pipeline of workers into the sector. More details are available in the full report at QualityInfo.org.

 

A podcast version of the report is also available on the OED YouTube page.

 

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The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is an equal opportunity agency. OED provides free help so you can use our services. Some examples are sign language and spoken-language interpreters, written materials in other languages, large print, audio, and other formats. To get help, please call 503-947-1444. TTY users call 711. You can also send an email to communications@employ.oregon.gov.

 

El Departamento de Empleo de Oregon (OED) es una agencia de igualdad de oportunidades. El OED proporciona ayuda gratuita para que usted pueda utilizar nuestros servicios. Algunos ejemplos son intérpretes de lengua de señas e idiomas hablados, materiales escritos en otros idiomas, letra grande, audio y otros formatos. Para obtener ayuda, por favor llame al 503-947-1444. Usuarios de TTY pueden llamar al 711. También puede enviar un correo electrónico a communications@employ.oregon.gov.

Press Release: Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 4.8% In May (Photo) -06/18/25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
 June 18, 2025

 

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Gail Krumenauer, State Employment Economist

(971) 301-3771

Video and Audio available at 10 a.m. PT

David Cooke, Economist (971) 375-5288

Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 4.8% in May

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.8% in May and 4.7% in April, after rising gradually over the past year from 4.1% in May 2024. Oregon’s 4.8% unemployment rate was 1.2 percentage points higher than the recent low of 3.6% during spring 2023. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% in both April and May.

 

In May, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment declined by 1,400 jobs, following a revised gain of 1,000 jobs in April. May’s gains were largest in leisure and hospitality (+1,300 jobs); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+1,200); and health care and social assistance (+900). Declines were largest in construction (-1,700 jobs); manufacturing (-1,200); and professional and business services (-900).

 

Leisure and hospitality has grown rapidly this year, adding 1,300 jobs in May and 6,000 jobs so far this year, following slight declines over the prior two years. In the past 12 months, three component industries grew rapidly: amusement, gambling, and recreation (+1,700 jobs, or 8.5%); limited-service restaurants and other eating places (+3,600 jobs, or 4.8%); and accommodation (+1,100 jobs, or 4.5%).

 

Construction employment dropped by 1,700 jobs in May, to a total of 112,300 jobs, continuing a downward trend. Since reaching a peak of 119,000 jobs in June 2023, construction has shed 6,700 jobs, or -5.6%.

 

Manufacturing cut 1,200 jobs in May, continuing its decline of the past two years. Since May 2024, manufacturing has lost 6,100 jobs, or -3.3%. In that time, the component industries cutting the most jobs were semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing (-2,900 jobs, or -8.7%); transportation equipment manufacturing (-500 jobs, or -4.5%); and fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing (-400 jobs, or -4.4%).

 

Next Press Releases

The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the May county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, June 24, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for June on Wednesday, July 16.

 

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