Job Opening Trends in Help Wanted Online Ads

by Luke Coury and Molly Hendrickson

August 20, 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 Declined in July

Oregon had 95,000 online ads in July 2026, down over the month from 102,700 in June. The number of ads posted for the first time (new ads) decreased by 4,300. 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 July. Healthcare practitioners and technical had the most job openings of any broad occupational group with 13,000. Other occupational groups with relatively high postings included sales and related (10,700), management (10,100), transportation and material moving (7,600), and office and administrative support (6,800).

 

 

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 1.2 in July.

 

 

Online Ads Declined Nationally in July

Online ads nationally followed a similar trend to Oregon. The U.S. had 7.5 million ads in July and new ads decreased by 183,000.

 

 

Oregon’s ad volume was in between its neighboring states in July. California had the most ads with 713,000 followed by Washington with 160,500. Nevada and Idaho had fewer ads than Oregon with 66,900 and 49,400, 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 July with 57,900. Portland new ads decreased by 2,600. For Oregon’s other metro areas:

  • The Salem MSA had 10,200 ads. New ads decreased by 610.

  • The Eugene MSA had 7,300 ads. New ads decreased by 310.

  • The Bend MSA had 5,600 ads. New ads decreased by 230.

  • The Medford MSA had 3,900 ads. New ads decreased by 100.

  • The Corvallis MSA had 1,800 ads. New ads decreased by 180.

  • The Albany MSA had 1,700 ads. New ads decreased by 140.

  • The Grants Pass MSA had 1,100 ads. New ads decreased by 90.

(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 22,900 followed by Washington County with 15,400.

 

 

Ad volume was also estimated by local workforce area. Portland-Metro had the the highest number of job openings with 38,300 followed by Mid-Valley (14,200), Clackamas (8,800), East Cascades (8,700), Lane (7,300), Rogue Valley (5,100), Northwest Oregon (4,900), Eastern Oregon (3,400), and Southwestern Oregon (3,000).

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

 

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