A Look at Firms by Size Class in Clackamas County, First Quarter 2025
August 28, 2025Size-of-firm data offers a snapshot of small and large firms in Oregon’s statewide and regional economies at a specific point in time. The Oregon Employment Department uses the first quarter covered employment data for each calendar year to calculate the number of private industry employer establishments along with the number of employees and the total wages for nine employee size categories.
In the first quarter of 2025, there were 17,000 private industry employers providing 149,500 jobs with a $2.8 billion payroll in Clackamas County. Small employers, with one to nine employees, numbered over 9,800 establishments that employed nearly 25,000 workers. At the other end of the spectrum, large employers, with 100 or more employees, numbered 230 establishments that employed 70,300 workers with a total payroll of $1.1 billion.
Looking at the Size of Firm Data from Two Perspectives
The size-of-firm data in this report will analyze the data from two perspectives: the number of employers by size-of-firm category, and the number of jobs by size-of-firm category.
Employers by Size of Firm: Industry Trends
- Clackamas County had a total of 17,000 private-industry employer businesses during first quarter 2025 and these businesses employed nearly 149,500 workers.
- Employers with zero employees numbered over 4,000 establishments in first quarter 2025. These employers were shown with zero employees because they reported zero employees in the month of March.
- Sixty-seven percent of all employers in the county had between one and 19 employees and numbered over 11,400 establishments.
- Mid-sized firms, with 20-99 employees, made up 1,300, or 8%, of all employers in the county in first quarter 2025.
- Large firms, with 100 or more employees, consisted of 230 firms making up only 1.4% of all private employer establishments. While small in quantity, these firms made up 47% of private industry employment during first quarter 2025.
Employment by Size of Firm: Employment Trends
- Private-sector employers in Clackamas County provided almost 149,500 jobs in first quarter 2025, which was a decrease of over 5,500 jobs from a year ago.
- Small size employers, with less than 20 employees, provided nearly 41,000 jobs or 27% of private-sector employment in first quarter 2025.
- Mid-size employers, with 20-99 employees, provided over 38,200 jobs or 26% of private sector employment in first quarter 2025.
- Large employers, with 100-500 employees, provided about 70,300 jobs and made up 47% of private-sector employment in first quarter 2025.
- The largest employers, with over 500 employees, provided over 34,400 jobs and made up 23% of private-sector employment in first quarter 2025.
