Oregon’s 2023 Maritime Employment
January 16, 2025Oregon’s maritime sector workforce totaled nearly 14,000 in 2023. This includes Oregon residents and nonresidents who worked in Oregon as either covered payroll employees or as noncovered employees in maritime industries. Of those jobs, 11,904 were covered by Oregon’s Unemployment Insurance program and 1,907 were nonemployers. Nonemployers are businesses that are subject to federal income tax and have no paid employees. 93% (1,782 jobs) of nonemployers were found in commercial fishing.
Among covered payroll jobs in the maritime sector, 6,748 jobs were in a group of 17 industries defined as the maritime sector with guidance from a 2017 maritime task force. All jobs in these 17 industries are considered maritime employment. Another 5,156 jobs were identified in industries outside of the 17 defined maritime industries but still serve an integral part in Oregon’s maritime sector and are counted as additional maritime sector jobs. Data on noncovered employment came from the year 2022, which is the most current year of data available.
Twenty-two of Oregon’s public ports support the maritime sector in multiple ways with employment counted in multiple industries, so port employment is not separated out from total covered employment. However, Oregon’s maritime ports workforce accounted for 759 jobs in 2023.
Wages in Oregon’s Covered Maritime Industries
Oregon’s covered maritime industries paid a total of nearly $953 million in wages in 2023. The average annual wage of covered jobs in Oregon’s maritime industry was $80,015. That was 17% higher than Oregon’s average annual wage in all industries, $68,283. Average annual wages vary depending on industry, ranging from a low of $31,459 in other aquaculture to a high of $148,755 in coastal and deep sea freight transportation.
The average annual wage is based on the 11,904 jobs covered by the unemployment insurance program. Wage information is not available for commercial fishing, except for the small percentage of commercial fishing jobs covered by unemployment insurance.
Importance of Maritime Sector Jobs in Rural Communities
While maritime sector jobs are prevalent on the Oregon Coast, maritime sector jobs can be found in all of Oregon’s 36 counties. Data for Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, and Yamhill counties is suppressed for confidentiality.
Across Oregon, the maritime sector made up less than 1% of total employment in the state. In some communities, maritime sector jobs represented a larger portion of the total workforce. The counties with the largest portion of workforce in the maritime sector were Lincoln (6.0%), Clatsop (5.3%), Curry (3.5%), and Coos (3.3%). In total, maritime sector jobs in coastal counties totaled 4,636 jobs. Multnomah County had the most maritime jobs of any county (5,248 maritime sector jobs), but these jobs were just 0.9% of the total workforce.
The number of maritime sector jobs by county is available from the covered employment data. Commercial fishers by county of residence is available from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics and is based on Internal Revenue Service income tax filings. Covered employment and nonemployers are combined for the map of maritime workforce by region.
The Aging of Oregon’s Maritime Sector Workers
The maritime sector workforce tended to be older than Oregon’s overall workforce in 2023. About 29 percent of jobs in Oregon’s covered fishing, maritime manufacturing, and transportation jobs were held by workers age 55 and over. That’s a significantly higher share than the 24% of the overall workforce. At least some of these workers will be looking to retire within the next 10 years.
Maritime industries with the most workers nearing retirement were support activities for water transportation (468 jobs), ship and boat building (430 jobs), and seafood product preparation and packaging (321 jobs). The industry with the largest share of workers age 55 years and over was fishing (40%), where 83 covered jobs are held by workers age 55 years and over.
Information about the age of the workforce is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators. It is based on covered employment that is combined with the age of individual workers from federal sources. There is less industry detail available from this source, so the age information is limited to eight maritime sectors and covers 46% of covered jobs.
Employment Projections Change through the Year 2033
The maritime sector workforce is expected to expand by 2% between 2023 and 2033, according to projections from the Oregon Employment Department. That is a net increase of around 150 jobs. Ship and boat building is expected to add 137 jobs, the largest gain in the maritime sector. Seafood product preparation and packaging has the second largest gain, with 99 new jobs by 2033. On a percentage basis, marinas are expected to add the most jobs, growing 15% by 2033 (34 jobs).
Industries projected to have fewer jobs in 2033 are fishing (-134 jobs); support activities for water transportation (-109); and inland water transportation (-4). Although these industries are projected to have fewer jobs in the future than today, they will continue to need more workers due to replacement job openings as current workers change occupations or leave the labor force. The need for replacement openings is reflected in the occupational employment data below.
Occupations in Oregon’s Maritime Industries
The workforce of Oregon’s maritime industries consists of many different occupations across the 17 industries that make up the maritime sector. Information about maritime occupations helps to better describe Oregon’s maritime workers and the occupational needs that the sector will have moving into the future. Maritime occupations are expected to add 154 jobs due to economic expansion and have 8,992 replacement openings through 2033, totaling 9,146 total job openings during the 10-year period.
Replacement openings, the number of job openings created when workers change occupations or leave the labor force, are expected to total nearly 9,000 through the year 2033. This represents the need for workers with the training required to fill those openings. Replacements are a much larger source of workforce need than jobs created due to sector growth. Through 2033, Oregon’s maritime sector will need 58 replacement workers for each new worker needed due to economic expansion. That’s a greater need for replacements than across the economy overall. Oregon projections show 15 replacement openings for every opening created due to economic growth. With an older workforce, the maritime sector is going to have openings to fill as current workers retire. The 14 occupations with the most jobs in Oregon’s maritime sector are shown in the table.
Conclusion
Oregon’s maritime sector is widespread and plays a key economic role in many coastal and rural communities. With a workforce totaling nearly 14,000 in 2023 and average wages 17% higher than the state average, the maritime sector supports many family-wage jobs in Oregon. The sector is expected to continue adding new jobs, albeit at a slower pace than the statewide average, creating the need for more workers.
Oregon’s maritime workforce is also aging. A large share of the current workforce will retire or change careers within the next 10 years, creating replacement openings for new workers. These workforce trends represent challenges for employers trying to fill their job vacancies, as well as more job opportunities for Oregonians in the maritime sector.