South Central Industry Employment Concentration Analysis

October 30, 2025

Location quotients (LQ) measure employment concentration in a local area compared with that of a broader base area. An LQ value greater than 1 indicates employment is more concentrated in the local area compared with that of the base area. An LQ of less than 1 indicates a lower concentration. LQ equal to 1 means the employment concentration in the local area is equal to that of the base area. This is an indicator of how specialized the economy is of a specific geographic area.

With this definition in mind let’s examine the location quotient of the 10 sectors in Klamath and Lake counties using Oregon and the United States as the base areas. We’ll then take a closer look at one industry of interest in each county.

Klamath County

The government sector employes a higher proportion of workers compared with the other nine sectors. In 2024 the LQ was 1.44 with the Oregon base meaning there were nearly 1.5 times as many workers in this sector compared with what we saw at the state level. Shifting to the United States base the LQ is slightly higher at 1.53. The information sector sees the lowest LQ of any sector with the Oregon base, while the United States These results suggest that Klamath County specializes in the production of public goods and services.

Focusing on government employment, how much have these concentration levels changed over time? The lowest LQ during the period 2001-2024 was 1.35 in 2006 and 2009. The highest was 1.50 in 2019. In other words, government employment concentration has been consistent over the past 23 years.

Widening our lens to the United States base reveals a similar story, albeit with slightly different bounds. The lowest LQ was 1.40 in 2006 and 2007 while the highest was 1.56 in 2002 and 2015.

Lake County

Like Klamath County, government employment is more concentrated than any other sector ranking the highest across both reference areas. In 2024, the LQ was 3.08 with the Oregon base, meaning there were more than three times as many workers in this sector compared with the sector’s concentration at the state level. Shifting to the United States base the LQ was 3.27. The professional and business services sector sees the lowest LQ of any sector, 0.27 and 0.25, respectively. Lake County specializes in the production of public goods and services.

Zeroing in on government, employment concentration levels generally increased from 2001 to 2019 and have since been declining. They reached a recent high LQ of 3.29 in 2019. Since then, the LQ dropped to 3.08 in 2024.

The national base area graph depicts a similar trend in concentration levels but with two recent peaks. The lowest LQ was 2.59 in 2002 while the highest was 3.37 in 2023.