Multnomah County’s Aging Workforce by Industry in 2022

July 18, 2024

Multnomah’s workforce is aging. The number of Multnomah workers age 55 and over more than tripled in the 30 years from 1993 to 2022, increasing from 37,000 to over 110,000. The share of the workforce 55 and older more than doubled in the same time period from 10% to 22%. Driving this trend is that the youngest of the large Baby Boomer generation turns 60 in 2024, 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 across industries, 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 Age 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 age 55 and over, with about 16,500. Proportionately, however, this accounts for only a middling 23% of the workforce. Educational services with 9,988 workers and professional, scientific, and technical services with 8,730 have the second and third most workers 55 and older in Multnomah County. 

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction has the largest share of workers 55 and older with 32%, though this only encapsulates 16 workers. In addition to having a large number of 55 and over workers, the manufacturing sector also has the second highest share of workers 55 and over with 28%. 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 Metro 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 with 24% across Oregon. Compared with other counties in Oregon, Multnomah is tied for the smallest share of workers 55 or older in the state with Washington County, also sitting at 22%. 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 (111,000 workers) than all of rural Oregon combined (66,000). Multnomah County also has nearly as many jobs held by workers ages 45 to 54 (107,000) as those 55 and older. Meanwhile, rural Oregon has fewer jobs held by workers ages 45 to 54 (49,000). Employers in metro counties will generally tend to have a larger pool of younger workers to recruit from when replacing retiring workers.

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) tend to have larger pools of younger workers compared with the U.S., and the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro MSA (Portland MSA) is no exception. The 55+ share of the workforce within the Oregon portion of the Portland MSA sits at 23%. Compared with 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 2022.

To explore and use the data available from LED, visit lehd.ces.census.gov.