Difficult to Fill Job Openings in 2025
March 20, 2026What can employers do to find the workers they need? We looked for signals from our Oregon Job Vacancy Survey, which is designed to identify employers’ vacancies, which ones they have a difficult time filling, and to get a business perspective on why these jobs may be going unfilled. The Employment Department surveyed 16,300 private-sector employers with two or more employees over the course of 2025 and received responses from 4,700.
After the rapid job growth in 2021 and 2022 and record high levels of job vacancies, Oregon employers reported vacancy levels closer to what was seen prior to the pandemic for the past two years. Private employers reported about 58,500 vacancies at any given time in 2025. Despite rising unemployment rates in Oregon in 2025, employers still had difficulty filling more than half (54%) of those job vacancies.
Many characteristics of vacancies in 2025 were very similar to past findings. Four out of five job vacancies were for full-time positions, and more than nine out of 10 openings were for permanent positions, regardless of whether or not the vacancy was difficult to fill.
| All | Filled Without Difficulty | Difficult to Fill | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacancies | 58,465 | 26,666 | 31,799 |
| Average wage | $26.72 | $23.89 | $28.91 |
| Full time | 80.1% | 78.3% | 81.5% |
| Permanent | 93.0% | 93.5% | 92.5% |
| Require education beyond high school | 33.0% | 22.8% | 41.1% |
| Require previous experience | 62.8% | 51.6% | 72.3% |
| Difficult to fill | 54.4% | 0.0% | 100.0% |
Difficult-to-fill vacancies had three high-level differences in 2025 compared to vacancies that were not difficult to fill. First, difficult to fill vacancies paid a starting wage that averaged over $5 more per hour than vacancies filled without difficulty. Secondly, difficult-to-fill vacancies were far more likely to require previous work experience (72%) than job openings filled without difficulty (52%). Additionally, relatively few job vacancies that were not difficult to fill (23%) required education beyond high school, while 41% of difficult-to-fill job vacancies did.
Employers reported difficulty in hiring for 75% of openings that required more than five years of experience, and 61% of vacancies requiring up to five years of experience. Job vacancies that required no previous experience were considered less difficult to fill, but that percentage was still 43%.
| Previous Work Experience | All | Filled Without Difficulty | Difficult to Fill | % Difficult |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All experience levels | 58,465 | 26,666 | 31,799 | 54.4% |
| None | 18,907 | 10,821 | 8,086 | 42.8% |
| Less than 1 year | 9,302 | 3,678 | 5,624 | 60.5% |
| 1 to 5 years | 23,165 | 8,986 | 14,179 | 61.2% |
| More than 5 years | 4,275 | 1,087 | 3,188 | 74.6% |
| Unknown | 2,816 | 2,094 | 722 | 25.6% |
Why Are Job Vacancies Difficult to Fill?
For each difficult-to-fill vacancy, employers offered open-ended responses to identify the primary challenge for the unfilled opening. Their responses were then sorted into 12 categories. Employers indicated that a lack of qualified candidates was the primary factor in one-third of their challenging openings in 2025, with a lack of applicants as a distant second reason.
| Difficult-to-Fill Categories for Employer-Provided Responses | Difficult-to-Fill Vacancies |
|---|---|
| Total with reasons provided | 27,920 |
| Lack of qualified candidates | 9,251 |
| Lack of applicants | 4,361 |
| Unfavorable working conditions | 4,169 |
| Lack of work experience | 2,565 |
| Low wages | 1,688 |
| Other | 1,305 |
| Lack of soft skills | 1,145 |
| Location | 1,059 |
| Lack of certification | 1,030 |
| Lack of technical skills | 662 |
| Right fit | 629 |
| Lack of training | 56 |
| Reason not provided | 3,879 |
| All difficult-to-fill vacancies | 31,799 |
While the number of job openings stayed relatively flat from 2024 to 2025, Oregon’s unemployment rate increased throughout the year, with an annual average of 5.1%. There were an annual average of 112,000 unemployed persons in Oregon throughout 2025, with about 58,500 job openings. That meant that for every job vacancy, there were about two unemployed people looking for work.
While unemployment crept up and job growth slowed or declined across most broad sectors of the economy, employers continued to look to fill vacant positions. Employers had the most difficulty getting qualified candidates for their positions (29%). In the rapid recovery from the pandemic recession, a lack of applicants (14%) was the most common reason for difficulty filling positions from 2021 to 2023. It was the second most common reason in 2024 and 2025.
- Shortage of journeyman plumbers;
- Very specific educational requirements;
- Requires a bilingual employee;
- Job requires specific skill set, computer literacy, customer service, organizational skills.
Another frequently reported reason for difficulty filling positions in 2025 was unfavorable work experience, representing 13% of difficult to fill vacancies. Unfavorable working conditions - like part-time jobs, short hours, nontraditional shifts, and demanding physical labor - increased from accounting for 8% of difficult-to-fill vacancies in 2024. Rounding out the top reasons for difficulty filling vacancies was a lack of work experience and low wages, each representing 8% and 5% of difficult-to-fill vacancies, respectively.
Among 2025 job vacancies where employers lacked qualified candidates, the most common occupations included:
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- Registered nurses
- Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
Vacancies that lacked applicants included jobs like:
- Personal care aides
- Nursing assistants
- Project management specialists
Top occupations among all the other difficult-to-fill vacancies included:
- Personal care aides
- Retail salespersons
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
Overall, employers reported difficult-to-fill job vacancies over 280 different occupations in 2025. The top occupations shown in the table below reflect nearly one-third (32%) of the difficult-to-fill openings in 2025. Occupations with the largest number of hard-to-fill vacancies included personal care aides (2,000), heavy truck drivers (1,900), and retail salespersons (1,100).
| Occupation | Vacancies | Difficult to Fill | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Occupations | 58,465 | 31,799 | 54.4% |
| Personal Care Aides | 5,102 | 2,049 | 40.2% |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 2,271 | 1,864 | 82.1% |
| Retail Salespersons | 2,102 | 1,081 | 51.4% |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 950 | 816 | 85.9% |
| Registered Nurses | 1,023 | 814 | 79.6% |
| Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics | 938 | 627 | 66.8% |
| Nursing Assistants | 1,803 | 616 | 34.2% |
| Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists | 681 | 555 | 81.5% |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,363 | 494 | 36.2% |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 1,121 | 455 | 40.6% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 682 | 432 | 63.3% |
| Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | 529 | 417 | 78.8% |
Regions
Difficulty filling jobs hit all areas of the state in 2025, although it was higher in certain areas. Portland Metro and Clackamas County (together known as the Portland Tri-County area) employers reported the least difficulty. Still, nearly half of vacancies in those areas were difficult to fill. Since the Portland Tri-County area is the largest metro in the state, it accounted for 12,100 hard-to-fill jobs or over one-third (39%) of all difficult to fill vacancies in Oregon. Regions reporting the highest shares of difficult-to-fill vacancies included the Rogue Valley (69%), East Cascades (68%), and Northwest Oregon (64%).
| Area | Vacancies | Filled Without Difficulty | Difficult to Fill | % Difficult to Fill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 58,465 | 26,666 | 31,799 | 54.3% |
| Portland Metro | 19,321 | 9,775 | 9,546 | 49.4% |
| East Cascades | 8,137 | 2,639 | 5,498 | 67.5% |
| Mid-Valley | 6,818 | 3,107 | 3,711 | 54.4% |
| Rogue Valley | 3,787 | 1,174 | 2,613 | 68.9% |
| Clackamas | 5,610 | 3,022 | 2,588 | 46.1% |
| Lane | 4,395 | 1,999 | 2,396 | 54.5% |
| Northwest Oregon | 3,176 | 1,139 | 2,037 | 64.1% |
| Southwestern Oregon | 3,406 | 1,533 | 1,873 | 54.9% |
| Eastern Oregon | 2,483 | 1,129 | 1,354 | 54.5% |
There was a range of about $10 in the average hourly starting wage for vacancies in different regions across Oregon. Average starting wages for hard-to-fill jobs ranged from $21.24 per hour in Eastern Oregon to nearly $32 per hour in the Portland Metro region and Clackamas County. Portland Metro and Clackamas County employers were more often recruiting for jobs that required education beyond high school and previous work experience. In Eastern Oregon, difficult to fill vacancies were less likely than in other areas to require education beyond high school or previous experience. Eastern Oregon difficult to fill vacancies were also the least likely to be full-time positions (66%).
| Region | Difficult-to-Fill Vacancies | Average Wage | Full time | Require Education Beyond High School | Require Previous Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 31,799 | $28.91 | 81.5% | 41.0% | 72.3% |
| Portland Metro | 9,546 | $31.98 | 88.0% | 49.1% | 84.6% |
| East Cascades | 5,498 | $25.52 | 73.9% | 36.4% | 60.7% |
| Mid-Valley | 3,711 | $30.73 | 79.3% | 28.6% | 73.2% |
| Rogue Valley | 2,613 | $26.97 | 84.9% | 41.7% | 73.7% |
| Clackamas | 2,588 | $31.68 | 85.1% | 46.0% | 80.9% |
| Lane | 2,396 | $26.82 | 77.4% | 41.6% | 69.5% |
| Northwest Oregon | 2,037 | $30.56 | 79.0% | 41.5% | 53.2% |
| Southwestern Oregon | 1,873 | $25.93 | 82.0% | 38.8% | 64.8% |
| Eastern Oregon | 1,354 | $21.48 | 66.2% | 25.6% | 50.3% |
The level of job vacancies in 2021 and 2022 was above anything we’ve seen since the beginning of this survey in 2013 but vacancies have since returned to pre-pandemic levels. That said, many employers still experienced difficulty filling their job vacancies. Employers may need to consider adjusting their experience and education requirements where possible and providing more training on the job, or they may need to raise the wages (or some combination of pay and perks like benefits or other work flexibility) they offer in order to reach the experienced applicants and qualified candidates they’re seeking.