Results from Oregon Employment Dept. 2016 Job Vacancy Survey in Southern Oregon

The Oregon Employment Department mailed out 1,328 job vacancy surveys to businesses in Jackson & Josephine Counties in 2016. 523 surveys were returned. From those responses, OED extrapolated estimates for the region.

There were almost 3,000 job vacancies, up from about 2,800 in 2015.  Two construction-related occupations were at the top of this year’s list with a third – roofers – making the top 20 list of occupations with the most vacancies. Large occupations with more typical turnover and replacement needs like cashiers and retail sales persons also had many vacancies. Demand for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers remained strong in 2016 as it was the prior year. But how will that be different in another decade if autonomous-piloted vehicles are rolling along the highways? Another perennially large vacancy group are health-care related occupations, including registered nurses, personal care aides, nursing and medical assistants all cracking the top 20 list in 2016.

For a full report and graphs of the results from the OED survey, click here.