Federal Government Jobs in Oregon
October 15, 2025Oregon had an average of 29,000 federal government jobs covered by unemployment benefits during the first two quarters of 2025. That accounted for about 1.5% of total covered employment in the state. Federal government jobs tend to be high paying compared with the annual average wage for all sectors. Federal jobs also tend to account for a larger share of employment in many of Oregon’s rural counties.
Federal Government Job Trends
Federal government employment has trended slightly downward since the beginning of the 2000s. Between 2001 and 2009, annual average federal government employment fluctuated between 29,000 and 31,000. That accounted for nearly 2.0% of all jobs.
After a temporary bump in 2010 due to Decennial Census work, federal government employment stayed in the range of 27,400 to 28,800 – or about 1.5% to 1.6% of all jobs – for the remainder of the 2010s. After the 2020 Decennial Census, federal government employment hovered around 28,000 jobs, before increasing slightly to 29,600 in 2024. Employment sat at 29,000 during the first half of 2025. From 2021 to mid-2025, federal government employment accounted for between 1.4% and 1.5% of all jobs in the state.
Largest Federal Government Employers
To look below top-line numbers, let’s look at detailed employment by agency from this time last year. Some agencies have highly seasonal patterns, particularly in the summer months. During the fourth quarter of 2024, Oregon had 29,500 jobs on federal government payrolls. The largest federal government employer in Oregon was the U.S. Postal Service (7,000 jobs), followed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with 6,400 jobs. More than 5,300 of the VA jobs were at hospitals and medical centers serving veterans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture employed over 4,300, which included about 3,700 U.S. Forest Service jobs in the fourth quarter of 2024. The state’s 2,900 Department of Defense jobs included almost 1,800 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Slightly more than half (1,400 or 55%) of the 2,500 Oregon jobs with the Department of the Interior were within the Bureau of Land Management. The Bonneville Power Administration accounted for nine out of 10 jobs with the U.S. Department of Energy within Oregon.
Rural and High-Wage Jobs
While federal government jobs accounted for about 1.5% of all employment, the share was much higher in some areas of the state, particularly in rural counties. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the top 10 counties by share of all jobs in federal government were rural areas. More than 15% of all jobs in Sherman County were in federal government. The next-largest shares were in Grant (9%), Harney (8%), and Lake (8%) counties.
Federal government jobs also tend to pay relatively high wages. Looking at annual average wages, jobs on federal government payrolls in Oregon paid nearly $98,500 in 2024. That was 38% higher than the average annual wage of $71,300 for all jobs in Oregon. A larger share of federal government jobs tend to require education beyond high school, which tends to be correlated with higher wages. In addition, some sectors that generally have lower average wages, such as leisure and hospitality and retail trade, also generally have little to no government employment. Both of these factors are among the contributors to higher average wage in federal government jobs.
The differences between federal government average wages and the average for all jobs were greatest in rural counties. In Wasco County, the annual average federal government wage of $115,800 was slightly more than double (104%) the average for all jobs ($56,700) in 2024. Federal government jobs in Yamhill County paid an average of 90% more than the all-job average. Sherman County paid an average 88% more than the wage for all sectors, and in Lincoln County, federal government averaged 83% higher wages than all jobs in 2024. Gilliam County was the only area where annual average wages for all jobs exceeded the federal average in 2024.
Federal Job Cuts in 2025
Published reports from across Oregon and the U.S. detail workforce reductions occurring in federal government starting early in 2025. As of October 13, 2025, the latest published Current Employment Statistics (CES) report showed a loss of 1,100 federal government jobs in Oregon from August 2024 to August 2025.
The preliminary August estimates do not reflect the federal government shutdown that began in October 2025. Federal government job losses as of August also do not include any federal employees who voluntarily resigned from jobs but remained on paid administrative leave through September or later. First-time and continued claims for unemployment insurance benefits, and specifically Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) may provide a general indicator of federal workforce reductions.