Job Opening Trends in Help Wanted Online Ads

by Luke Coury and Molly Hendrickson

July 16, 2026

The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine series measures online job ad volume over time, aggregated from a broad universe of job boards. It’s a useful source of information about demand for workers in Oregon’s labor market, often seen as a leading indicator, as job ads show employers’ intentions to hire in the near term.

Oregon Online Ads Grew in June

Oregon had 102,800 online ads in June 2026, up over the month from 98,300 in May. The number of ads posted for the first time (new ads) decreased by 900. Online ads peaked in the historically tight labor market in the two years following the pandemic-recession, but have since decreased.

 

 

Oregon’s employers posted ads for a wide range of occupations in June. Healthcare practitioners and technical had the most job openings of any broad occupational group with 14,290. Other occupational groups with relatively high postings included sales and related (12,380), management (11,420), transportation and material moving (7,940), and office and administrative support (7,890).

 

 

The number of unemployed Oregonians per online ad rose to over 3.0 during the pandemic before dropping to a low of slightly over 0.5 in 2022. Since then, the ratio has gradually increased to around 1.0. The ratio of unemployed persons to online postings was 1.1 in June.

 

 

Online Ads Grew Nationally in June

Online ads nationally followed a similar trend to Oregon. The U.S. had 8 million ads in June and new ads increased by 115,700.

 

 

Oregon’s ad volume was in between its neighboring states in June. California had the most ads with 766,200 followed by Washington with 173,000. Nevada and Idaho had fewer ads than Oregon with 70,800 and 49,700, respectively.

New Ads Varied by Oregon Area

Ad volume varied significantly among Oregon’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The Portland MSA had the most ads in June with 62,520. Portland new ads decreased by 1,270. For Oregon’s other metro areas:

  • The Salem MSA had 10,800 ads. New ads increased by 290.

  • The Eugene MSA had 7,770 ads. New ads increased by 100.

  • The Bend MSA had 5,810 ads. New ads increased by 200.

  • The Medford MSA had 4,160 ads. New ads decreased by 50.

  • The Corvallis MSA had 2,020 ads. New ads were unchanged.

  • The Albany MSA had 2,050 ads. New ads increased by 180.

  • The Grants Pass MSA had 1,350 ads. New ads decreased by 10.

(Note: On the graph below, press on the series in the legend to select or deselect each series from the visualization)

 

 

The two counties making up the Portland MSA had the highest ad volumes of any county in Oregon. Multnomah County had the highest ad volume with 26,200 followed by Washington County with 16,900.

 

 

Ad volume was also estimated by local workforce area. Portland-Metro had the the highest number of job openings with 43,100 followed by Mid-Valley (15,500), Clackamas (10,000), East Cascades (9,600), Lane (8,100), Northwest Oregon (5,800), Rogue Valley (5,800), Eastern Oregon (4,000), and Southwestern Oregon (3,400).

(Note: On the graph below, press on the series in the legend to select or deselect each series from the visualization)

 

Latest Items

Subscription Service

You can sign up to receive email notifications when publications have been updated or new articles are added for any geographic area you are interested in. You can receive new articles on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule – whichever is most convenient for you.

Visit the subscription order form to sign up. It allows you to choose your preferences, and you can change those preferences – or unsubscribe – at any time.