OLMIS

by Dallas Fridley
Published Apr-5-2012

Oregon's Regional Outlook Pay Varies Average Wages by Region Summary

Oregon ranked 31st (out of 51) for federal employment per capita in 2011 with 7.4 jobs per 1,000 population. With 28,800 federal jobs in 2011, Oregon would need an additional 6,710 just to be an average state. From a payroll standpoint, Oregon's 2010 average pay in federal government reached $64,130 with nearly $2 billion paid out in wages and salaries. As an average state, Oregon could expect an additional $430 million in federal payrolls annually.

Public administration is the largest industry group within federal government, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities. Public administration can include just about any agency, from the Internal Revenue Service to U.S. District Courts and intermittent Census workers. In some states, the U.S. Forest Service is found in public administration, while in Oregon it belongs in the natural resources and mining group. Trade, transportation, and utilities is dominated by the U.S. Postal Service but in Oregon it also includes the Bonneville Power Administration. Education and health services is a fairly large group in Oregon, but it primarily includes Veterans Administration (VA) facilities, found in just a handful of communities. Oregon also has federal government jobs in financial activities (housing related), leisure and hospitality (parks), professional and business services (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), and other services (national cemeteries).

Public administration was Oregon's largest industry group in 2010, with over 11,600 jobs, or about 38 percent of federal government's total. Per capita, Oregon ranked 45th, with 3.0 jobs per 1,000 population. There were 22 states with fewer than four federal public administration jobs per 1,000 population, and 13 at or under three per 1,000, so Oregon was not alone. At the other end of the spectrum, there were 20 states above five jobs per 1,000 with the top five including the District of Columbia (288.1), Maryland (18.6), Alaska (15.5), Virginia (14.4), and Hawaii, (11.4). Yes, it's true, DC - though not a state - had 288 federal public administration jobs for every 1,000 residents (DC also had the highest average wage).

The Portland region was home to slightly more than half (51%) of Oregon's public administration jobs in 2010 (Graph 1). Plus the Portland region (2,767 jobs) along with Southern Oregon (1,388 jobs) commanded most of the federal government's education and health services jobs, with large VA facilities in Multnomah, Jackson, and Douglas counties. Natural resources and mining jobs are clustered mostly outside

the Portland region, led by Central Oregon's 1,127 jobs (31%), followed by Eastern Oregon, with 870 (24%), the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, Portland, then the Coast. Despite the large number of natural resources jobs in Oregon, public administration was the largest federal government industry group in most regions - except Southern Oregon (educational and health services). In Central Oregon, natural resources and mining would typically be its largest federal government activity - but the 2010 Census pushed public administration jobs to its top spot. Trade, transportation, and utilities generally finished second to public administration, representing about 28 percent of all federal jobs in Oregon.

Federal employment in the Portland region reached about 15,330 jobs in 2010, representing half of Oregon's total. From a per capita standpoint, that's about right, since the five Oregon counties that make up the Portland region represented about 47 percent of the state's 2011 population, putting it at 8.5 jobs per 1,000. The leading region was Eastern Oregon, with 13.0 jobs per 1,000 population, followed by Central Oregon at 10.1 per 1,000 and Southern Oregon at 9.1 per 1,000. The Willamette Valley finished at the bottom, with just 4.9 federal jobs per 1,000 population. The Coast, with 6.0 federal jobs per 1,000 population was also below average.

Federal government pay came out on the top of all industries in 2010, averaging $64,130 (Table 1). Oregon's average wage for all ownerships in 2010 was considerably lower, at $41,669. While federal government is clearly out in front at the major group level, there are several high paying private industries in Oregon with more jobs. For example, average wages in utilities reached $81,147 in 2010 (4,547 jobs), and computer and electronic manufacturers paid an average $102,529 (34,968 jobs). Management of companies paid $73,545 (30,517 jobs), and wholesale trade workers earned $64,793 (72,931 jobs). At the other extreme, average pay in leisure and hospitality was $17,049 in 2010.

At the county level, average pay for all industries in 2010 ranged from a low of $24,050 in Wheeler County to a high of $53,991 in Washington County. Likewise, federal government wages in Wheeler County averaged $36,726 (lowest in Oregon) compared with $55,791 in Washington County.

Where was federal pay ranked highest in Oregon? It wasn't Multnomah County, where pay averaged $72,768 and Wasco County was very close at $74,162. The honor goes to Sherman County, at $79,646. With 112 jobs in Sherman County, federal government represented about 15 percent of its all industries employment and 34 percent of its payroll. That's not the case in Multnomah County, where federal government was just 3 percent of its all industries employment and 4.6 percent of its payroll.

Sherman County is of course home to the John Day Dam - a behemoth capable of producing enough electricity to power two cities the size of Seattle, WA. Likewise, the Dalles Dam in Wasco County provides federal government jobs and enough electricity to power two cities the size of Portland.

The Portland region commanded the highest average federal government pay in 2010, at $71,012 (Table 2). Southern Oregon's $60,512 finished a distant second, followed by the Willamette Valley at $57,931 and Central Oregon, where federal pay averaged $57,924. The Coast finished at the bottom, averaging $52,755 in 2010, while Eastern Oregon was slightly higher, at $55,632.

The Portland region remained ahead of the pack in all major industry groups. The "all other" industry group, which includes financial activities and professional and business services, along with leisure and hospitality and other services, was the highest paying, at an average $80,929. That outlook held true across each region although natural resources and mining beat out trade, transportation, and utilities in most regions except Portland and Central Oregon.

Federal government employment in Oregon is somewhat unique, given the large number of workers in natural resource and mining activities. Perhaps it comes as a surprise that Eastern Oregon and Central Oregon led the state in their proportion of federal employment, while one of the state's smallest rural counties, Sherman was home to the highest average federal government pay. Columbia River dams are unique to Oregon, and there are other examples, like the Umatilla Army Depot near Hermiston. Oregon may be unique for some of its federal jobs but overall it remains below average when compared with most states, ranking 31st.