Once you experience it, you will be “gone” on Oregon, but please don’t rhyme it – if you want locals to love you, you’ll say it ORY-gun!
Oregon employment is transforming today, with the ‘greening’ of economy all over the state. Even though unemployment is high, as it is all over, there are industries that are growing and Oregon employment in every industry is ‘greening.’ Oregon is a great place to live; as an example, Money Magazine just last December named Portland the #6 Best Place to Live in the US, keeping it in the top 10 such cities.
Oregon unemployment
Oregon unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) increased from October 2008 to October 2009 by 4.1% to a rate of 11.3%
[Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
Oregon Employment Opportunities
Oregon employment offers individuals an opportunity to make a social difference. If aligning your work life with your ideals is important to you, Oregon employment offers an excellent opportunity for you. The Oregon political structure has an elected regional government. What good is that? It gives communities a chance to plan strategically to preserve the natural beauty and to properly steward resources.
This attitude (one of the many forward-thinking attitudes held by these passionate, unique, and dedicated people) has led to the ‘greening’ of Oregon employment. And this greening has appeared not only in specifically ecological jobs but also across the entire workforce. The non-profit organization www.workinginoregon.org has just recently published a very detailed study of the Oregon Employment Workforce and Economic Research Division, called “The Greening of Oregon’s Workforce: Jobs, Wages, and Training.” They define green occupations as services or products that increase energy efficiency, produce renewable energy, prevent or reduce environmental degradation, clean and restore the natural environment, or educate, and help create policy that is beneficial to the environment.
Right now, ‘green’ jobs make up about 3 percent of Oregon employment; that number is predicted to grow to 14 percent in just the next 2 years. Most green jobs require only a high school education, but Pay is good in these industries; higher-paying jobs increasingly require advanced degrees.
Other green jobs you might consider in Oregon employment include solar power installers, wind turbine installers and fabricators, energy efficient builders, and any job that helps the environment. As industries develop, green businesses will have increased needs for engineers and scientists, consultants, project managers, and attorneys.
Industries in Oregon that are reporting the most solid grown are gains in employment services, and services to buildings and dwellings. Leisure and hospitality have made gains, along with transportation, food services, construction, trade, and utilities.
Employment statistics have followed national trends over the last two years, but certain industries are growing despite the downturn. Oregon employment statistics can be found at http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/OlmisZine (Oregon Labor Market Information System). There you’ll find the Labor Market Information forecast, which indicates an expected growth of 25 percent in health care and social assistance, and electronic markets, agents, and brokers jobs are expected to grow by 20%, as are professional and technical services, like legal, architectural and engineering, and computer systems design and related occupations. These are just the largest predictions; other industries are growing, too.
Oregon Employment Resources
The Oregon Employment Department and Governor Kulongoski are hosting an emergency jobs program to provide 12,000 temporary jobs, to help Oregon employment get out of its current stall. There are also a number of government-run sites supporting Oregon employment and they are reaching out to both workers and employers, acting as matchmaker for skills and jobs.
Go to www.worksourceoregon.org for information and to use their employment search tools at www.iMatchSkills.org. The iMatchSkills program, a very detailed questionnaire, helps you assess only the skills you bring and also which companies might provide the most comfortable fit, both in working conditions and salary opportunities. Other government-run websites include www.federaljobsearch.com/Oregon.asp and www.stateoforegon.com/directory/employment_agencies_opportunities.html.
A search of Oregon employment sites reveals many jobs, many industries; check out www.oregonlive.com/jobs, which has a resume building program right on their site, you can build your resume, with options you might not consider otherwise, like being willing to relocate to Bulgaria, for example. This program is thorough and really opens possibilities for the job seeker. You have the option of having your resume submitted to appropriate employers, once you’re ready. Other sites for Oregon employment include www.southernoregonjobs.com, and www.jobs.net/Oregon.htm, along with the big national sites, like Monster.com or Adecco.com.
Oregon Living Conditions
Of all the reasons to move to the Pacific Northwest, the first three are, as in real estate, location, location, and location. There is no place like Oregon, which can offer, in the space of one state’s boundaries, practically every climate choice you could possibly want. From the wild majesty of the Oregon seacoast, to the stark beauty of the high eastern desert, living in Oregon offers serene beauty and pristine air quality. In places hidden along the way, like the Rock Creek Hideout, crystalline creeks meander or rush through a silent landscape.
For sports enthusiasts, Oregon offers activities galore – enough to satisfy the most discerning windsurfer, sailboarder, hiker, or rock climber. You can ski, river raft, ride horses, camp, fish, and stay outside as long as you like.
Well, yes, it rains. But it doesn’t rain too hard. And it doesn’t rain as much as you’ve heard. The result of the rain, of course, is greenness, and that is a quality that pretty much sums up Oregon. It is gorgeous, the people know it, and they bend the public will to preserve their glorious natural backdrop. If you ever once live in Oregon, you will never match the experience.
Oregon Employment
If you’re thinking of leaving the rat race you currently run, if you’ve longed for a more satisfying place to live, give some thought to looking for Oregon employment. Oregon is beautiful, has a lower cost of living than many cities, has available both the quintessential urban landscape, with a vibrant, eclectic, multi-ethnic culture like Portland, for example, with the rural land around it preserved by an enlightened electorate. If you’re a person looking for excellent quality of living combined with opportunity, look into Oregon employment.
