Help Wanted in the East Cascades

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Summary of the Results from the 2017 Job Vacancy Survey

On March 5, 2018, the State of Oregon Employment Department has released survey results regarding employment in the East Cascades area (Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, Wheeler, Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, and Gilliam Counties).

The Employment Department surveyed 1,400 private employers in the Columbia Gorge, Central Oregon and South Central Oregon with two or more employees during 2017. If those companies were hiring, they asked about - job title, full/part time status, permanent/temporary status, starting wage, and educational or experience requirements. 

A brief summary of those results are below - click here to view the full report. 

  • The East Cascades had 6,533 job vacancies at any give time in 2017.
     
  • Leisure and hospitality and health care having the largest number of job vacancies (2,146, 32.8%). 
    • Leisure and Hospitality - 1,225
    • Health Care and Social Assistance - 927
  • Farming and Food preparation occupations represented the largest number of vacancies by an occupational group (1,646, 25.1%).
    • Farming, Fishing and Forestry - 864
    • Food Preparation and Serving Related - 782
  • Businesses reported job vacancies in 147 different occupations.
     
  • 7-out-of-10 regional vacancies required no education beyond high school.
     
  • Average hourly wages generally increase along with education requirements for job vacancies. Along with high-paying vacancies are more likely to require education beyond high school.
     
  • More than half of all vacancies in the East Cascades pay less than $15 per hour.
     
  • Vacancies requiring higher education are more likely to be high-paying, full-time and require prior experience. High-paying vacancies are more likely to require a combination of education and experience
     
  • 47% of all vacancies require previous experiences. 
     
  • By Business; Farm-working and labor businesses reported the largest number of difficult to fill vacancies (274 vacancies). Followed by Graders and Sorters of Agricultural Products, (246 vacancies). 
     
  • By Industry; Natural resources and leisure and hospitality had the largest number of difficult to fill vacancies.
    • Natural Resources and Mining - 767
    • Leisure and Hospitality - 763

When comparing these numbers to the entire state, one in four vacancies of the entire State of Oregon was outside the two-county Portland Metro Area of (Multnomah and Washington Counties). 

  • Statewide - 60,718 employment vacancies
  • Portland Metro - 15,406, 25.3%
  • East Cascades - 6,533, 10.7%
  • All others - 38,779, 63.8%

Information provided by State of Oregon Employment Department, Help Wanted in the East Cascades Report.