[5]
By Oregon Business and Industry [6],
Oregon Business and Industry released the Oregon Jobs Report [7] covering the first quarter of 2026. The report is produced by Colorado-based Aspen Tech Labs [8], which maintains a database of more than 10 million active job postings worldwide from over 350,000 employers. The report released today shows high-level hiring activity and advertised compensation across the state for the first quarter of 2026.
The information contained in the Oregon Jobs Report provides a useful, if limited, snapshot of statewide hiring activity. It is not intended to capture every piece of potentially relevant data – business closures and contractions, for instance – but what it does capture identifies important trends, many of which point to the continued relative weakness of Oregon’s economy:
- In step with national trends, Oregon job postings rebounded in the first quarter of 2026, increasing by 6.6% over the fourth quarter of 2025.
- Year-over-year job postings in Oregon declined significantly, dropping 10.4% from March 2025 to March 2026. National numbers are much stronger, declining only 2% from March 2025 to March 2026.
- The median full-time salary tied to Oregon job postings in March 2026 was 2.2% higher than the median full-time salary in March 2025. Nationally, the median full-time salary for the comparable period grew by 4.4% – twice the rate of Oregon’s.
- Oregon’s unemployment rate continues to exceed the national average. In January 2026 – the most recent month for which data was available – Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.2% compared with a national rate of 4.3%.
- Health care continues to be an area of strength, accounting for a large portion of job postings and relatively high pay. However, health care is funded largely by other private-sector activity, from employer-covered insurance to government spending supported by tax dollars.
- Large companies produce a large number of jobs, demonstrating their importance to Oregon’s economy.
In its work to strengthen Oregon’s economy, OBI provides a range of timely and relevant data. In addition to the quarterly Oregon Jobs Report, OBI maintains the Oregon Scorecard [9] and produces reports through the OBI Research and Education Foundation [10], including those examining Oregon’s business tax burden [11], its regulatory environment [12], manufacturing sector [13] and educational funding structure [14].
Go here [7] to read this quarter’s Oregon Jobs Report.