Employment by Sector

Central Oregon Employment by Sector

Central Oregon has a diverse economy, with no one sector dominating the region. Government, retail trade, and the leisure and hospitality industry are the top three sectors, followed closely by manufacturing and natural resources, mining and construction. The region's Professional and Business Services as well as Financial Activities sectors experienced considerable growth in the last few years. For more information, visit Oregon Employment Department's award-winning website, www.olmis.org.  

For the past decade, Deschutes County has led Oregon in high technology growth (over 270%). Numerous companies from the Silicon Valley, Portland-Vancouver Metro, and Puget Sound have relocated or expanded here - escaping skyrocketing costs, electricity shortages and tight labor markets. Many of these firms are small but extremely innovative, producing niche-market products from semiconductors to software, medical instruments to recreational equipment.

The region has seen strong growth in professional and business services, financial activities, and education and health services. With a growing tourism base, the leisure and hospitality sector has also experienced strong year over year growth. Manufacturing contracted in 2007, reflecting the relocation of major boat manufacturer in Jefferson County, and in 2008, reflecting the housing slowdown and mirroring a statewide reduction of manufacturing jobs. However, the manufacturing sector in Central Oregon remains a stronger economic component in the region than in other areas of Oregon.

Copies of the 2009 Central Oregon Area Profile can be ordered by calling EDCO offices at 541-388-3236 or 1-800-342-4135. This six page brochure has comprehensive information about Central Oregon's employment and wages, population, transportation, housing costs, as well as frequently referenced business resource numbers. Costs for EDCO members are $0.75 per copy and $1.00 per copy for non members.

SECTOR Employment by County

Below we show the average employment by industry sector in Central Oregon, with breakouts for each county. 

2008 Average Employment by Industry and County in Central Oregon
Sector	Crook County	Deschutes County	Jefferson County	Tri-County Total
Natural Resources & Mining	165	615	376	1,156
Construction	358	5,681	115	6,154
Manufacturing	1,072	5,082	1,036	7,190
Wholesale Trade	866	1,628	222	2,716
Retail Trade	530	10,193	541	11,264
Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities	415	1,209	105	1,729
Information	35	1,615	21	1,671
Financial Activities	180	3,685	117	3,982
Professional and Business Services	310	7,301	134	7,745
Educational & Health Services	643	8,988	248	9,879
Leisure & Hospitality	636	9,993	529	11,158
Other Services	222	2,325	187	2,734
Government	1,276	8,212	2,364	11,852
County Total	6,708	66,526	5,993	79,227

Source: Oregon Employment Department, 2008

• Also in the Employment section, you may be interested in Central Oregon Top 50 Employers, income and wages, job growth projections from Oregon Employment Department, and unemployment statistics.
• In the Publications section, EDCO Profiles and Data - Demographic, Consumer Expenditure, and Business/Workforce from Oregon Prospector may be helpful.