South Coast Industry Employment Concentration Analysis
September 22, 2025Location 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 to 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 10 sectors in Coos and Curry 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.
Coos County
The government sector in Coos County employs a higher proportion of workers compared with the other nine sectors. In 2024 the LQ was 1.59 with the Oregon base meaning there were over 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 even higher at 1.7. The information sector sees the lowest LQ of any sector, 0.34 and 0.33, respectively. These results suggest that Coos County specializes in the production of public goods and services.
Focusing on government sector employment, how much have these concentration levels changed over time? The lowest LQ during the period 2001-2024 was 1.53 in 2009. The highest was 1.67 in 2017. In other words, government’s 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 wider bounds. The lowest LQ was 1.55 in 2020 while the highest was 1.80 in 2017. Government employment tends to be more concentrated in smaller counties throughout Oregon.
Curry County
Like Coos County, government sector employment is more concentrated than many other sectors. The leisure and hospitality sector ranks the highest across both reference areas. In 2024, the LQ was 1.78 with the Oregon base, meaning there were nearly twice as many workers in this sector compared with leisure and hospitality’s concentration at the state level. Shifting to the United States base the LQ was 1.74. The information sector sees the lowest LQ of any sector, 0.34 and 0.33, respectively. Curry County specializes in the production of private services.
Zeroing in on leisure and hospitality, employment concentration levels dipped noticeably beginning in 2003, reaching a recent low LQ of 1.54 in 2011. They then rebounded to a high of 1.94 in 2021 but have since been on the decline.
The national base area graph depicts a similar upward spike in concentration levels to the state base area graph during the 2019-2020 timeframe. The lowest LQ was 1.55 in 2011 while the highest was 1.87 in 2021.
