Fall 2025 Hiring Among Oregon’s Private Employers Drops to Lowest Level Since Spring 2020

January 29, 2026

Each quarter, the Oregon Employment Department surveys private employers from all industries and areas of the state to ask about the job vacancies they are actively trying to fill. Oregon businesses reported 46,300 vacancies in fall 2025. Vacancies decreased 14% from the summer and decreased 7% from fall 2024. After reaching elevated levels of close to 100,000 job vacancies in spring 2021 through summer 2022 in the rapid hiring following pandemic re-openings, job vacancies across Oregon have returned to pre-pandemic levels during 2023, 2024, and most of 2025. Fall 2025 was the lowest level of quarterly vacancies Oregon has seen since spring 2020.

As of November 2025, there were 6.0 million private-sector job openings in the United States, as measured by the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, and 7.4 million people were unemployed, resulting in a U.S. ratio of about 1.2 unemployed people per job opening. This is the second quarter the U.S. ratio has exceed 1.0 since January 2021.

There were 109,900 unemployed Oregonians in November 2025 and 46,300 job vacancies, leaving roughly 2.4 unemployed persons for every job opening. As job vacancies in Oregon have fallen since the record high peaks and unemployment has been rising, Oregon’s unemployed-to-job vacancy ratio has been increasing.

Most Oregon openings in fall 2025 were for full-time, permanent positions. Education beyond high school was required for 32% of fall vacancies. Prior work experience was required for 65% of vacancies, up from 61% in fall 2024. Employers reported 47% of vacancies in fall 2025 as difficult to fill. This is the first quarter since spring 2020 that less than 50% of vacancies were considered difficult to fill.

The average starting wage among this group of vacancies was $26.56 per hour, an inflation-adjusted decrease of 2% from fall 2024, and 1% decrease from summer 2025. The number of vacancies offering a starting wage below $20 per hour increased 4% over the year. The number of vacancies offering between $20 and $30 per hour decreased 5% over the year and vacancies paying above $30 per hour decreased 15%.

Hiring demand existed throughout different industries and occupations, though it was concentrated in the private health care and social assistance industry which represented 31% of all job vacancies. Management, administrative, and waste services and leisure and hospitality followed, with about 5,500 job vacancies each.

Employers reported vacancies in almost 190 different occupations in the fall. The occupation groups with the most vacancies in fall 2025 were health care support (7,200), office and administrative support (4,900), and food preparation and serving related occupations (4,900). Detailed occupations reported most frequently included personal care aides, nursing assistants, and fast food and counter workers.

Fall vacancies were distributed across the state, with the Portland Tri-County area (Portland-Metro and Clackamas County, combined) accounting for one-third (33%). Over the year changes in vacancies varied across the state. Southwestern Oregon vacancies grew the fastest over the year (+92%) while Clackamas County vacancies declined by 55%.

More details about Oregon Job Vacancies are available on QualityInfo.org, on the publications page under Job Vacancy Survey.