Multnomah County’s Aging Workforce by Industry in 2023
April 07, 2025Multnomah’s workforce is aging. The number of Multnomah workers ages 55 and over more than tripled in the 30 years from 1993 to 2023, increasing from 37,000 to over 113,000. The share of the workforce 55 and older more than doubled in the same period from 10% to 22%. Driving this trend is that the entire Baby Boomer generation is now 55 and older, and they are more likely to be in the labor force than previous generations were at ages 55 and beyond. Many of these workers may plan to retire in the next 10 years, taking their skills and experience with them.
With the relatively smaller Gen Z generation entering the workforce, workforce aging is expected to continue in the coming years. Its impacts will be felt industry-wide, as there are fewer laborers available to replace retiring workers. It impacts employers, industries, and regions to varying degrees. Employers should know the age profile of their own workforce so they can plan accordingly for increased turnover and recruitment efforts due to retirements. At a broader level, workforce planners need to know the demographic profiles of entire industries and regions to help gauge the need for future replacement workers.
Health Care Has the Most Workers Ages 55 and Older in Multnomah County
The age of the workforce varies by industry. The health care and social assistance industry has far and away the most workers ages 55 and over, with about 17,200. Proportionately, however, this accounts for only a middling 23% of the workforce. Educational services with 10,000 workers and retail trade with 8,900 have the second and third most workers 55 and older in Multnomah County.
The manufacturing sector has the largest share of workers 55 and older with 28%. Real estate and leasing has the second highest share of workers 55 and over with 26%. Utilities has the third largest share with 27% of the workforce being age 55 or older. Employers in these and in all other industries need to plan for how they are going to attract replacement workers, especially for jobs that require significant training.
Multnomah County and the Portland Metropolitan Statistical Area Have a Relatively Young Workforce
Multnomah’s workforce tends to be younger than in Oregon, where the share of workers 55 and older sits at 22% compared to 24% across Oregon. Compared to other counties in Oregon, Multnomah has the smallest share of workers 55 or older. The county workforce also tends to be younger than the United States as a whole, where 24% of the private workforce is 55 or older (public employment is not available at the national level).
Although older workers are a smaller share of the workforce in metro counties (23% in the Portland MSA), there are a lot more of them. Multnomah County alone has more workers ages 55 and older (112,000 workers) than all of rural Oregon combined (67,000). Multnomah County has nearly as many jobs held by workers ages 45 to 54 (108,000) as in the 55 and over age group. Meanwhile, rural Oregon has fewer jobs held by workers ages 45 to 54 (50,000). Rural counties will need to either recruit workers from other areas, or engage area workers who aren’t actively in the labor force, just to maintain the size of their current workforces.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) tend to have larger pools of younger workers compared to the U.S., and the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro MSA (Portland MSA) is no exception. The Oregon portion of the Portland MSA share of the workforce being age 55 or older sits at 23%. Compared to the top 50 MSAs in the U.S. by employment size, the Portland MSA tends to have a younger workforce. The New Jersey portion of the New York MSA has the largest share of 55+ workers amongst the bunch at 28%, while the Austin, San Juan, and Salt Lake City MSAs have the smallest shares all at 19%.
Employment by Age Data
Information about employment by age group for industries and counties is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program and the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) partnership with the states. Employment data is the average of quarterly employment for 2023.
To explore and use the data available from LED, visit lehd.ces.census.gov.