Federal Government Jobs in Oregon
February 26, 2025Oregon had an average of 29,600 federal government jobs covered by unemployment benefits during the first three quarters of 2024. That accounted for about 1.5% of total covered employment in the state. Federal government jobs tend to be high paying compared with the annual average wage for all sectors. Federal jobs also tend to account for a larger share of employment in many of Oregon’s rural counties.
Federal Government Job Trends
Federal government employment has trended slightly downward since the beginning of the 2000s. Between 2001 and 2009, annual average federal government employment fluctuated between 29,000 and 31,000. That accounted for nearly 2.0% of all jobs.
After a temporary bump in 2010 due to Decennial Census work, federal government employment stayed in the range of 27,400 to 28,800 – or about 1.5% to 1.6% of all jobs – for the remainder of the 2010s. After the 2020 Decennial Census, federal government employment hovered around 28,000 jobs, before increasing slightly to 29,600 in the first nine months of 2024. From 2021 to 2024, federal government employment accounted for between 1.4% and 1.5% of all jobs in the state.
Largest Federal Government Employers
To look below top-line numbers, let’s look at detailed employment by agency from this time last year. Some agencies have highly seasonal patterns, particularly in the summer months. During the first quarter of 2024, Oregon had 28,600 jobs on federal government payrolls. The largest federal government employer in Oregon was the U.S. Postal Service (7,000 jobs), followed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with 6,400 jobs. More than 4,500 of the VA jobs were at hospitals and medical centers serving veterans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture employed nearly 4,000, which included almost 3,400 U.S. Forest Service jobs in the first quarter of 2024. The state’s 2,700 Department of Defense jobs included more than 1,600 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Slightly more than half (1,280 or 53%) of the nearly 2,400 Oregon jobs with the Department of the Interior were within the Bureau of Land Management. The Bonneville Power Administration accounted for nine out of 10 jobs with the Department of Energy within Oregon.
Rural and High-Wage Jobs
While federal government jobs accounted for about 1.5% of all employment, the share was much higher in some areas of the state. Many of them are rural counties. In the first quarter of 2024, the top 10 counties by share of all jobs in federal government were rural areas. Nearly 14% of all jobs in Sherman County were in federal government. The next-largest shares were in Grant (9%), Harney (8%), and Lake (7%) counties.
Federal government jobs also tend to pay relatively high wages. Looking at annual average wages, jobs on federal government payrolls in Oregon paid $92,700 in 2023. That was 36% higher than the average annual wage of $68,300 for all jobs in Oregon. A larger share of federal government jobs tend to require education beyond high school, which tends to be correlated with higher wages. In addition, some sectors that generally have lower average wages, such as leisure and hospitality and retail trade, also generally have little to no government employment. Both of these factors are among the contributors to higher average wage in federal government jobs.
The differences between federal government average wages and the average for all jobs were greatest in rural counties. In Wasco County, the annual average federal government wage of $106,400 was slightly more than double (101%) the average for all jobs ($53,100) in 2023. Federal government jobs in Sherman County paid an average 82% more than the wage for all sectors, and in Lincoln County, federal government averaged 79% higher wages than all jobs in 2023. Washington County was the only area where annual average wages for all jobs exceeded the federal average in 2023.
Federal Job Cuts in 2025
Published reports from across Oregon and the U.S. show workforce reductions occurring in federal government starting early in 2025. Any job losses do not yet show in Oregon’s current employment or quarterly employment and wages data series (as of February 26, 2025). Oregon’s monthly jobs report for January 2025 will be published on March 10th. The January employment estimates are unlikely to show any of the job changes due to executive orders or other workforce reductions, due to timing of the personnel changes in late January or in February. Monthly employment and unemployment estimates for Oregon in February are due out on March 26th.
Like all workers in Oregon, federal employees and veterans are eligible for benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program when they lose a job through no fault of their own.
Any federal employees who voluntarily resigned from government jobs, but continue working or otherwise remain on an agency payroll until later in 2025 will also not likely be reflected as any change in employment until late in 2025. In the interim, first-time and continued claims for unemployment insurance benefits, and specifically Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) may provide a general indicator of federal workforce reductions.