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Economy in Central Oregon
By Jake Procino | Workforce Analyst/Economist, Multnomah County | Oregon Employment Department
Central Oregon Economy in View:
Oregon’s total nonfarm payroll employment grew 0.4%, adding 8,700 jobs over the last 12 months ending in June. In the same time frame, the Bend MSA (consisting of Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties) grew 1.5% adding 1,660 jobs.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Oregon ticked up to 4.9% in June, above where it was last year at 4.1%. Oregon’s unemployment is above the U.S.’s unemployment rate of 4.1%. Oregon is similar to its 10-year unemployment rate average of 4.6%. Unemployment in the Bend MSA ticked up to 4.6%, up from 4.3% a year prior.
Find more about the Central Oregon economy here.
Topic of the Month: Oregon’s Forestry and Logging Industry
According to the Oregon Employment Department’s covered employment statistics, forestry and logging’s 681 establishments employed 8,787 workers statewide and added $717 million in payroll to Oregon’s economy in 2024. Employment was in decline between 2005 and 2009 and has since leveled off. It is currently varying seasonally in a band between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs, although the logging portion has slowly declined since 2019.
Of the 2024 annual average total, 4,652 were employed in the private sector while 4,136 were employed in government. Most of the government employment is in federal government at 3,948 while the rest is in state government.
The largest industry of employment in forestry and logging is timber tract operations, employing 4,471 on an annual average basis in 2024. Timber tract operations employment is largely government employment. In 2024, 3,948 federal workers and 172 state workers managed government forestlands. The remaining 351 were in the private sector. In addition to forest workers, many occupations in this industry are managerial or professional and require a high level of experience and education. Wages, therefore, are relatively high – $97,670 in 2024.
Read more about Oregon’s forestry and logging industry on QualityInfo.org here.
Articles of Interest
“A Transition to an Employer-Driven Market in Oregon,” by Damon Runberg, Business Oregon.
“Mapping The AI Economy,” by Brookings Metro.
“Amid construction slump, Kotek cheers passage of state, city housing bills,” by Jonathan Bach, The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The articles, research and publications herein are solely for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement nor reflect the views of the Oregon Employment Department.
