Salem Area Work Centers See More Job Seekers
Written by Pam Ferrara for the Salem Reporter.
Pam Ferrara of the Willamette Workforce Partnership continues a regular column examining local economic issues. She may be contacted at [email protected].
January-February 2026
At the beginning of a new year, uncertainty and caution seem to be the prevailing sentiments about the economy – with some qualifications.
What is certain is that job growth has slowed, and unemployment is ticking up. But, according to the economists of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, the economy is “…showing hints of pick-up…” – more on this later.
So, we’ll analyze trends, and begin the new year with an interview with Kim Parker-Llerenas, the executive director/CEO of the Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP), the local workforce development board and this column’s sponsor.
WWP’s director, staff and governing board follow the monthly economic information. In fact, the board is required by federal legislation to regularly publish a report on the economic trends in the area. They also hear regularly from area employers and job seekers, and as a result have a more individualized perspective on local labor market issues.
But first, a look at the numbers – is job growth slowing down?
In the Salem area, total employment growth has slowed since recovery from pandemic job losses but still increased 2% over the last year. (see table below)
And from 2019 (pre-pandemic) through December 2025, Salem’s job growth was 8%, compared to 1% in the state, and 5% in the U.S.
It should be noted that declining employment in the Portland and Eugene areas are driving the overall performance of the state as a whole. Both areas’ total employment declined by just a bit under 1% from 2019 through 2025.
What about specific industries? (see graph below)
The Salem area (somewhat) bucks the trend here too. Over the last year, growth in health care employment was larger than statewide, and retail trade was flat – statewide, retail trade lost jobs. It should be noted that, in spite of job growth, the health care industry has been in crisis since the pandemic, with industry workers experiencing record levels of stress and burnout.
An extra bit of information about the leisure and hospitality industry, from the Quarterly Census of Wages and Employment – that’s the actual count of jobs that’s always a few months behind. From third quarter of 2019 (pre-pandemic) to third quarter of 2025, the Salem MSA was the only area to have job gains in this industry, 2% to be exact. The Portland area’s leisure and hospitality employment was behind its pre-pandemic level by 7%, Eugene by 2%, and the state as a whole by 3%. So, job growth in leisure and hospitality in the Salem area outperformed Portland and the state simply by being small but positive.
Salem’s unemployment rate was 5.1% in November and December, up slightly from 5% in September (there was no published rate for October due to the government shutdown). This still translated to nearly 12,000 individuals unemployed and looking for work in the Salem MSA (Metropolitan Statistical area, Marion and Polk counties combined) in December of 2025. (see graph below)
The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, in the last revenue forecast , acknowledged the economic slowdown, but sees a “reacceleration” of the economy in 2026, due to federal tax cuts, interest rate reductions, and tariff rates not being as scarily huge as they threatened to be at the beginning of the year. The Office’s economists do say, however, that it could take another entire year before tariff effects fully work through the economy.
What does the Willamette Workforce Partnership have to say? Kim Parker-Llerenas, a workforce professional of some 17 years, leads the Partnership in participating in a system that’s existed in various configurations since the 1960s. Its main goal is to support employers in finding talent that enables them to succeed, and investing in job seekers to meet that demand, throughout Linn, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties.
We begin the interview with a question about the once-in-a-lifetime event of the pandemic, when the area lost 26,000 jobs in one month:
Q. How did WWP respond to the challenges of the early pandemic?
A. The WorkSource Centers closed their doors (they stayed physically closed for over a year), and everyone had to adjust. We all learned how to navigate Zoom and other online platforms, and WorkSource started offering services virtually. We also realized how important internet access is to survival, which is still true today.
Another major activity was participating in the distribution of pandemic relief funds. We helped governmental entities hand out nearly 8 million dollars’ worth of checks to area businesses – lots of small businesses, including child care centers – to help them stay open.
Q. What are employers telling you about the state of the economy?
A. It depends on the industry. There’s a lot of uncertainty among manufacturers about tariffs affecting product demand. And the major layoff at Intel although outside our area, has had indirect effects here. The hospitality industry has recovered, which is excellent. Wages have increased – although wine sales are down. Overall, the major theme among employers is caution about the future.
Q. What trends are you seeing regarding job seekers?
A. We’re seeing increased numbers of job seekers coming into the WorkSource Centers and using the Centers for job search, as there are some 18,000 people unemployed and looking for work in our four-county area. Our partnership with the Oregon Employment Department and our investment in the WorkSource Centers provide a wide array of job search services, and targeted funding for job training.
Q. What are health care employers telling you?
A. We’ve been responding to their concerns for some time. Three years ago, we organized a Behavioral Health Consortium, Willamette Care Connects, (where employers meet and share information and problem-solve) and recently we’ve expanded the membership of the consortium to include all health care employers. That effort began in October. And, we’ve been exploring the use of more apprenticeships in the industry – We just received funds (from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission) to develop one in alcohol and drug counseling.
Q. How does the administration in D.C. view workforce issues?
A. There’s a big emphasis on apprenticeships, that is positive. And we are excited about the new workforce Pell Grant. These grants for low-income students have always been only for those aiming for long term credentials. This change should support shorter term trainings.
The workforce boards operate under federal legislation titled Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and it hasn’t been reauthorized as yet. We are receiving funds annually from congressional appropriations, but re-authorization likely won’t happen until after mid-term elections.
Q. What is WWP’s biggest challenge?
A. As always, adequate funding – federal funding has been declining for years, and other state wide investments are about to expire. We’re working with state legislators to continue this investment. But regardless, the workforce system is more resilient than ever, and will continue to offer programs that deliver results.
For more information about the Willamette Workforce Partnership, visit their website at: https://willwp.org/
To sum up, there’s been a slowdown in the economy over the last year, and the Salem area has followed the trend with some notable exceptions.
The year 2025 began with threats of huge tariff increases which mostly didn’t materialize, and ended with the longest federal government shut-down in history. So, it isn’t surprising that, in spite of the positive economic indications being cited by the Office of Economic Analysis, caution and uncertainty are still the order of the day.
It remains to be seen, in the next couple of months, whether or not growth improves, and the rising unemployment rate increases, steadies or starts to fall. So, as usual, stay tuned!
Pam Ferrara of the Willamette Workforce Partnership continues a regular column examining local economic issues. She may be contacted at [email protected]
