Employment Expected To Grow Over The Next 10-Years

The Oregon Employment Department projects Oregon’s total employment to grow by 141,000 jobs between 2024 and 2034. These employment projections reflect modest job growth in the economy, although many additional job openings are expected due to the need to replace workers who leave their occupations. In 2024, there were 2.2 million jobs in Oregon. The projected 6% increase in employment between 2024 and 2034 includes private-sector gains of 125,500 jobs, growth of 7,700 jobs in government, and an additional 7,400 self-employed Oregonians.

Beyond gains associated with the anticipated economic growth, another 2.4 million job openings will be created by 2034 to replace workers who retire, leave the labor force for other reasons, or make a major occupational change. Together, the number of job openings due to job growth and replacements will total nearly 2.6 million. All broad sectors in Oregon are expected to add jobs by 2034, except for federal government, which is projected to decline by 3% (-1,000 jobs).

The private health care and social assistance sector is projected to increase the fastest, growing by 13%. Private health care and social assistance is also projected to add the largest number of jobs over the next 10 years (+40,400 jobs). This growth is attributed to the aging of the state’s population, longer life expectancies, and an expected rebound in the state’s long-term population growth.