Green Jobs in Oregon Senate Committee on Commerce and Workforce Development September 21, 2010

Oregon’s Definition of a Green Job A green job provides a service or produces a product that: 1.Increases energy efficiency 2.Produces renewable energy 3.Prevents, reduces, or mitigates environmental degradation 4.Cleans up and restores the natural environment 5.Provides education, consultation, policy promotion, accreditation, trading and offsets or similar supporting services (for any of the above)

A Survey of Oregon Employers ,400 green jobs Three percent of Oregon’s non-federal employment Every major industry sector More than 220 occupations Employers expected to have 58,800 green jobs in 2010, but no follow-up survey has been completed

Many green jobs are in “blue collar” occupations

Few green jobs pay very low wages

Two-thirds of green jobs require no education beyond high school

Analyses of Green Sectors An analysis of all jobs in a group of companies performing similar activities Not an analysis of green jobs Sectors identified by the Oregon Green Jobs Council

Green Sectors to be Studied Renewable energy production & generation Green manufacturing Energy efficiency and weatherization Energy transmission and storage Sustainable transportation Sustainable agriculture and forestry Green building and development Environmental technologies and services

Renewable Energy Production & Generation 13 firms that produce renewable energy (electricity) for the “grid” Total employment 2009Q3: 11,040 Private jobs down 1,241 from 2004Q3 to 2009Q3 (-12%) -4% for all firms in the same industries -2% for all private firms Trends dominated by wood & paper product manufacturing 2009Q3 median wage was $30.01 $26.14 for all firms in the same industries $15.25 for all private firms $171 million in total wages

Green Manufacturing 40+ firms that manufacture a “green product” Total employment 2009Q4: 1,921 Jobs up 685 from 2004Q4 to 2009Q4 (55%) -8% for all firms in the same industries -3% for all private firms Jobs concentrated in larger firms (50+ employees) 2009Q4 median wage was $20.87 $22.72 for all firms in the same industries $15.70 for all private firms $32 million in total wages

Recent Green Job Hiring Trends

On-line Job Ads in August 54,000 active on-line ads for all jobs 1,000 for green jobs All job ads concentrated in health care and sales Green job ads concentrated in engineering and science Not much difference in geographical distribution No correlation between green job ad growth and all job ad growth SolarWorld, Intel and GE advertised green jobs Three largest healthcare providers advertised more ads than all green jobs combined

Three Key Points About Green Jobs Green jobs do exist – they have existed for some time and they are not all “new” jobs Green jobs are widely dispersed – most are not found in wind and solar Green jobs account for a very small portion of the workforce – and recent job advertisement trends don’t indicate this will change soon

Hiring Trends in Oregon

Last time I was with you, you asked how many jobs we’d have to create to get the unemployment rate down. As you probably know, the unemployment rate hasn’t budged. August’s rate = 10.6% … statistically, unchanged for the last several months.

The main reason is that we’re simply not seeing overall job growth. If we take out the impact of Census jobs, we see that April and June were extremely positive, while most other months are showing little or no job change.

We’re looking at two things here: how far did each industry fall … and how much have things turned around?

This is actually fairly consistent with the most recent state forecast. OEA forecasts a -0.7% annualized change in the 3rd quarter. Actual employment for July and August is on course for a -0.2% or -0.3% change in the third quarter.

On the bright side, the number of on-line job postings has shown some growth from last summer’s lows.

So let’s take a look at a few recent announcements, as shared in our weekly news summary, Around the State.  Info gathered by Research staff spread across Oregon.  Summary distributed every Thursday afternoon.  Past four weeks:  95 positive announcements (8 for 50+ employees)  12 negative announcements (3 for 50+)  Year ago four weeks:  76 positive announcements (6 for 60+ employees)  27 negative announcements (2 for 50+ employees)

Construction WC Construction of Elgin won the $8 million contract to replace the Pendleton Round-Up’s west grandstand section. Counting subcontractors, the project will employ more than 100 workers and should be completed in time for the Round-Up’s 100-year celebration in September. The Observer, Ruby Pipeline construction is set to begin in Lakeview; the project is expected to bring 600 workers to the area. Lake County Examiner,

Manufacturing AC Solar Technology in Bend will begin production of its Blue Leaf 210W AC Module. It expects to employ up to 150 workers. Bend Bulletin, The Greenbrier Cos. will add 260 jobs to its Gunderson manufacturing plant in Portland after the company landed a $130 million railcar contract. The positions could be filled by calling back previously furloughed workers or by new hires. Portland Business Journal,

Wood Product Manufacturing Murphy Co. will reopen the former Panel Products mill in Rogue River. It will produce softwood plywood products and employ about 150 people. Grants Pass Daily Courier, Warm Springs Forest Products Industry has contracted with Boring-based Vanport International to make products for the Asian market. The contract saved 115 jobs in Jefferson County. Madras Pioneer, The Swanson Group will close its Glendale sawmill and scale back operations at its stud mill in Roseburg. About 90 employees will be affected. Register-Guard,

Green Manufacturing & Technology Swiss battery maker ReVolt Technology received a $5 million U.S. government grant that will help the company launch a Portland manufacturing and research center. It will hire about 250 people. The Oregonian, Solar World plans to hire 350 more workers at its Hillsboro factories by September 30. The Oregonian, Solexant Corp. will build a solar module manufacturing plant in Gresham. Initial plans call for a facility with 100,000 square feet of space and 100 employees, increasing to 170 workers at full production. The Oregonian,

Retail Trade Movie Gallery Inc. will close its remaining stores. It will lay off about half of the employees who work at its Wilsonville corporate offices, which employed 238 people as of February The remaining workers will be let go incrementally to align with the final closure of the corporate office in October. Portland Business Journal, Lowe’s home improvement plans to build a store in Beaverton. It is expected to create more than 100 jobs. The Oregonian, Netflix, Inc. in Hillsboro plans to hire about 100 employees within the next six months. Hillsboro Business Advocate,

Transportation & Information Regional airline Horizon Air will lay off 120 employees in Portland and Seattle. Portland Business Journal, A FedEx Ground facility will open in Troutdale next month. The $100-million, 514,000-square-foot hub is seven times larger than the current Swan Island location. The company plans to hire 243 part-time handlers. KGW.com, IBM anticipates hiring 600 new employees in Oregon as it introduces new mortgage software tied to its recent acquisition of Beaverton-based Wilshire Credit Corp. About 90 of the new jobs are expected to be at Wilshire’s office in Salem, with the remainder in Beaverton. The Oregonian,

Professional and Business Services Customer service company Stream Global Services Inc. in Beaverton will hire nearly 500 people. It provides outsourced customer support – including sales, customer care, and technical support – for a variety of companies. Portland Business Journal, Sunwest Management Inc., which once ran the nation’s fourth-largest network of assisted living centers, will lay off 150 workers at its Salem headquarters. Portland Business Journal,

Professional and Business Services Satellite navigation company Garmin plans to create a technical support center in Salem that will eventually employ 200 people. Statesman Journal, Freight transport firm Con-Way is laying off 200 employees in Northwest Portland as part of a plan to outsource administrative and information technology services. KPTV.com,

We continue monitoring job conditions across the state. We report the job trends every month, in our Employment Situation news release. (Next scheduled: October 19, 2010) We list all possible job openings on our web site and other Employment Department staff help Oregonians find work through our iMatchSkills web site / system.

Charlie Johnson Oregon Employment Department (503) Graham Slater Oregon Employment Department (503) Join the conversation: OregonEmployment.blogspot.com