Oregon Recession 5 Years Later

If things feel bad it's because they are, and while some things get better for a small percentage, they're not getting better for most.  A study published last June by the Oregon Employment Department detailed the employment situation in Oregon, not much good news there.  Note: The labor force participation rate is the percentage of working-age people who are actually employed or actively looking for work. 

•Oregon’s labor force participation rate is at its lowest level since records began in 1976.

•Oregon’s labor force participation rate peaked at 68.9 percent in 1998 and declined to

63.4 percent in 2012.

•The aging of Oregon’s population explains roughly half of the decline in Oregon’s labor

force participation rate since 2000.

•Sharp declines in the labor force participation rates of Oregon’s youth and young adults

(ages 16 to 24) account for more than one-quarter of the decline in Oregon’s labor force

participation rate since 2000.

Another State Employment Study published Sept 24, 2013 concluded,

Job growth is expected to accelerate over the next two years, with the state expected to fully regain the nearly 150,000 jobs lost during the Great Recession by early 2015 - nearly six years after hitting bottom.

This is grim news for people under 55, things will probably not get better any time soon.

•Oregon’s older population (ages 55 and above) is the only age group projected to have a

growing labor force participation rate through 2020.

•Even though labor force participation rates for Oregon’s older population are increasing,

this age group still has lower participation rates than the prime working age group (ages

25 to 54). Therefore, as the older age group makes up a larger share of the population,

Oregon’s overall labor force participation rate will fall.

•Labor force participation rates among Oregon’s youth and young adults (ages 16 to 24)

and prime working age group (ages 25 to 54) are projected to decline through 2020.

The sharpest decline will occur among Oregon’s teenage population.

•Oregon’s labor force participation rate ranks 31st highest among the 50 states.

•Across Oregon’s counties there is a fairly strong correlation between high unemployment rates and low labor force participation rates. In addition, many counties with high unemployment rates are rural counties that also have older populations. Both of these factors – high unemployment and an older population – contribute to lower labor force participation rates.