Job Opening Trends in Help Wanted Online Ads

by Luke Coury and Molly Hendrickson

September 16, 2026

The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine series measures online job ad volume over time, aggregated from a broad universe of job boards. It’s a useful source of information about demand for workers in Oregon’s labor market, often seen as a leading indicator, as job ads show employers’ intentions to hire in the near term.

Oregon Online Ads Declined in August

Oregon had 87,600 online ads in August 2026, down over the month from 95,100 in July. The number of ads posted for the first time (new ads) increased by 800. Online ads peaked in the historically tight labor market in the two years following the pandemic-recession, but have since decreased.

 

 

Oregon’s employers posted ads for a wide range of occupations in August. Healthcare practitioners and technical had the most job openings of any broad occupational group with 12,300. Other occupational groups with relatively high postings included sales and related (10,100), management (9,800), transportation and material moving (7,200), and office and administrative support (6,400).

 

 

The number of unemployed Oregonians per online ad rose to over 3.0 during the pandemic before dropping to a low of slightly over 0.5 in 2022. Since then, the ratio has gradually increased to around 1.0. The ratio of unemployed persons to online postings was 1.3 in August.

 

 

Online Ads Declined Nationally in August

Online ads nationally followed a similar trend to Oregon. The U.S. had 7.2 million ads in August and new ads decreased by 60,000.

 

 

Oregon’s ad volume was in between its neighboring states in August. California had the most ads with 671,000 followed by Washington with 155,500. Nevada and Idaho had fewer ads than Oregon with 66,900 and 47,200, respectively.

New Ads Varied by Oregon Area

Ad volume varied significantly among Oregon’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). The Portland MSA had the most ads in August with 53,900. Portland new ads increased by 1,400. For Oregon’s other metro areas:

  • The Salem MSA had 9,800 ads. New ads increased by 280.

  • The Eugene MSA had 6,900 ads. New ads increased by 80.

  • The Bend MSA had 5,400 ads. New ads decreased by 70.

  • The Medford MSA had 3,400 ads. New ads decreased by 110.

  • The Corvallis MSA had 1,600 ads. New ads increased by 30.

  • The Albany MSA had 1,600 ads. New ads decreased by 60.

  • The Grants Pass MSA had 950 ads. New ads decreased by 80.

(Note: On the graph below, press on the series in the legend to select or deselect each series from the visualization)

 

 

The two counties making up the Portland MSA had the highest ad volumes of any county in Oregon. Multnomah County had the highest ad volume with 22,000 followed by Washington County with 14,900.

 

 

Ad volume was also estimated by local workforce area. Portland-Metro had the the highest number of job openings with 36,900 followed by Mid-Valley (13,800), Clackamas (8,400), East Cascades (8,000), Lane (7,200), Rogue Valley (4,600), Northwest Oregon (4,400), Eastern Oregon (3,200), and Southwestern Oregon (2,600).

(Note: On the graph below, press on the series in the legend to select or deselect each series from the visualization)

 

Latest Items

Subscription Service

You can sign up to receive email notifications when publications have been updated or new articles are added for any geographic area you are interested in. You can receive new articles on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule – whichever is most convenient for you.

Visit the subscription order form to sign up. It allows you to choose your preferences, and you can change those preferences – or unsubscribe – at any time.