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The Portland metro area has two Fortune 500 companies − Nike and Precision Castparts. The majority of Portland businesses are small to midsized, meaning they employ less than 500 people. Portland doesn't have Seattle's business might − no Boeing and the high-tech wealth of Microsoft and other software companies. It used to have a large wood products business, but that industry while still important to the state's economy, has diminished.
Manufacturing is especially important in Oregon, where as recently as 2007, high-tech manufacturing accounted for about 10 percent of economic output − eight times the share nationally. Yet since 2007, Oregon has lost about 40,000 of its 200,000 manufacturing jobs. National contract manufacturers have left the state in droves, heading overseas or to lower-cost domestic locales. RadiSys Corp. has moved the last of its Hillsboro manufacturing to Asia. Suntron Corporation closed its Newberg plant, laying off 190 workers. Solectron Corp. closed its Hillsboro plant and laid off 160, moving work to California and Mexico. Benchmark Electronics Inc. closed in Beaverton, laying off 180 and moving work to plants in Minnesota and Texas.
Intel still employs about 15,000 - 16,000 in the metro area and continues to invest in new plant expansion. Some large high-tech companies thrive. Beaverton-based Merix Corp., for example, was sold in 2010 to Viasystems Group. The St. Louis-based giant primarily assembles circuit boards abroad, but retained Merix's Forest Grove electronics-assembly plant for defense business, quick-turn jobs and prototypes. Hillsboro-based TriQuint Semiconductor, with 845 Oregon employees, makes components for wireless communication. It has added more than 800 employees company-wide since 2006, and plans to add about 160 more this year for a total 2,760.
Solar panel companies have taken over the chip plants as this industry is growing and retrofitting a chip plant to solar panel is relatively inexpensive. Oregon has used subsidies and other incentives to attract solar companies. Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. employs about 200 at a Salem solar plant. Germany's SolarWorld employs about 900 workers in Hillsboro.
Many services-based ecosystem have bloomed in the last few years: micro breweries, bike shops, advertising agencies and apparel firms. It's a business ecology that prizes progressive social values and livability, not raw wealth and power.
Portland is big into shoes mainly because Nike has created a pool of talented shoe designers in the area. Shoes companies in the Portland area include Danner, Lacrosse, Columbia Sportswear, Keen, and Le Coq Sportiff. They do the design here but almost all the manufacturing is done overseas. But it takes more than designers to make a successful shoe company. For example, a special skill-set is necessary to understand and negotiate the contracts with Pacific Rim companies for the manufacturing.
A good example of taking this business ecology one step further into actual manufacturing is United Streetcar, LLC (a subsidiary of Oregon Iron Works, Inc.). United Streetcar and SKODA have partnered to produce modern, efficient, American-manufactured streetcars and to be a pioneering force in increasing urban transit options throughout the United States. In 2009, United Streetcar completed manufacturing the first Buy-America compliant modern streetcar for the City of Portland, Oregon. These cars will be on the streets of Portland in 2010. Many other cities in the USA have expressed an interest in purchasing United streetcars.
Switching Careers
Pity the company that is looking for a whiz at HTML5, the up-and-coming Web language. Or the business seeking people to develop mobile applications or a social media strategy. There aren’t enough of these types to go around, and positions remain vacant despite the urgent need.
Why, then, is the unemployment rate at 9.1 percent? Partly because there is so much less need for real estate agents, desktop-computer hardware designers, administrative assistants and others. The skills mismatch between demand and supply is acute. At this point, a frustrated mortgage loan officer who has applied for hundreds of jobs may be wondering: Should I just give up and become a skin care specialist — one of the fastest-growing job categories listed by the Labor Department?
Switching to a new career is a drastic step. Before you pursue it, ask yourself: Is your skill becoming obsolete, or is it just in a cyclical funk? Construction managers may be having a hard time now, but they will eventually be in demand again. A government-sponsored site, acinet.org, projects growth for various professions.
Source: New York Times, June 19, 2011
National Web Sites for Finding a Job in the Portland Metro Area
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All Job Center Job Viewer/Resume Broadcaster automatically retrieves job listing from major job search engines, broadcast resumes to multiple positions, automatically compose cover letter according to job description, automatically dispatch job to specific folder, and automatically highlight keywords. Job seekers can use All Job Center to work off-line, organize jobs and submit multiple applications with one click.
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Best Driver Jobs They work with a number of carriers that haul freight in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
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BestJobsUSA A site with many claims - it displayed over 1,000 jobs in Portland for "all categories." Check out "America's Best Places to Live and Work" - Portland is number ten.
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Career Journal Sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, this site is targeted at the upwardly mobile professional. Relocation information and a salary calculator. Free. PC Magazine "Editor's Choice" in May 2002.
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Career Builder Searched for all jobs in Portland under the Quick Search and stopped counting at 100 plus. You can post a resume, career resources, and three methods of searching. No advanced registration to search for a job.
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Career Jet Career Jet gives job seekers access to a large selection of jobs that are sourced from various internet sites.
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Craig's List It's free!
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Dice Dice is a online Information Technology ( IT ) job board with high tech permanent, contract and consulting jobs. Dice found 962 IT jobs in Portland.
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Flip Dog Very colorful and big tabs to click on so easy to navigate.
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Green Jobs Learn more about fields like ecotoxicology, marine biology, pollution prevention, and urban forestry.
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Jobs All jobs/all category/Portland Oregon: Search resulted in 80 jobs.
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Job Direct They claim they are the leading web-based job search site for college and entry-level professional positions. You can signup for a e-mail job alert by location and profession. Registration required - you build a resume and career path.
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Job Search USA Founded in 2006, the site has about 25 jobs (January 2007) posted for Oregon. The site makes it easy to find job postings.
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Hot Jobs Easy to search for jobs - no registration required. Found close to 100 jobs in Portland by doing a Quick Search. Post a resume, career resources, free newsletter, job fairs.
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Indeed Indeed's complimentary and comprehensive search engine for jobs provides the latest job opportunities.
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Monster Monster is a well known site. Monster displayed upwards of a 1,000 jobs in the Portland area.
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Net-Temps Primary a site to find a "contract job" but also full-time perm positions listed.
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Renewable Energy Jobs in the renewable energy field.
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Trucking Jobs Truck driving jobs are listed at the site with many of America’s trucking companies.
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USA Jobs Online This site combines jobs from many job search engines such as Monster, Hot Jobs, etc.
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Yahoo Jobs Not just job listings but all about jobs—from résumé writing to how to get a raise once your foot's in the door.
Local Web Sites for Finding a Job in the Portland Metro Area
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Creative Staffing: Mathys+Potestio Mathys+Potestio provides creative agencies, design firms and corporate marketeers with creative talent on a contract, contract-to-hire, or direct hire basis. For key hires, they offer retained search services. The company also promotes employee empowerment and growth by helping clients manage their talent resources.
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Jobs Dango Their slogan is "Northwest jobs for Northwest people."
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Oregon Business Magazine They list the "100 Best Companies in Oregon to Work For."
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OregonLive OregonLive is affiliated with The Oregonian (Oregon's largest newspaper). You can connect with the Help Wanted ads from The Oregonian. OregonLive also has a career section where you register, post your resume, etc.
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Oregon Tradeswomen Dedicated to promoting success for women in the trades through education, leadership and mentorship.
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Portland Business Alliance A non-profit "Chamber of Commerce" type organization. They sell a number of publications to help job seekers such as the Largest Employers of the Portland/Vancouver Metropolitan Area. Click on "Publications" at their Web site to order.
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Portland Business Journal They have jobs posted by 27 different categories.
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Portland Recruiter Company maintains 15 plus "recruiter" sites (e.g., Seattle Recruiter, etc.) in major US cities.
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Portland Twitter Jobs Lists a few jobs plus news about the Portland job market.
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PDX Jobs Commercial search firm that lists only a handful of jobs. For example, only three high tech jobs were listed. Registration required but they do offer a visit.
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Portland Preferred Jobs If I were looking for a job, this is where I would start. Easy to use and lots of search options. Lots of jobs listed but the dates they were posted seem to be months past. Also list job fairs. You can post your resume and no registration is required.
Portland Metro Area Largest Employers
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Intel Corporation - 16,500
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Providence Health Systems - 13,500
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Safeway - 13,000
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Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) - 11,300
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Fred Meyer Stores - 10,500
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Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest - 8,747
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Legacy Health Systems - 8,500
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State of Oregon - 6,700
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Nike - 5,500
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City of Portland - 5,498
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Portland Public School, - 5,047
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Wells Fargo - 5,000
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U.S. Bank - 4,138
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Portland State University - 4,000
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United Parcel Service (UPS) - 3,900
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Beaverton School District, 3,886
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Portland Community College - 3,400
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Vancouver School District - 3,228
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Southwest Washington Medical Center - 3,200
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McDonald's Corporation - 3,000
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Portland General Electric (PGE) - 2,652
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Farmers Insurance Company of Oregon - 2,500
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Standard Insurance Company - 2,500
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Volt Services Group - 2,500
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TriMet - 2,495
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Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon - 2,495
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Albertsons Food Centers - 2,351
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Freightliner - 1,500
Source: Portland Business Alliance
Not-For-Profit Web Sites for Finding a Job in Portland
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One Stop Workforce Development System The Region 2 One Stop Workforce Development System in Multnomah, Washington and Tillamook Counties and the City of Portland in Oregon is a cooperative effort between many state and local agencies, businesses and organizations. The One Stop Career Centers bring employment, training and other services to Oregonians in a convenient and accessible manner. A very useful site for finding a job plus other job related information!
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Oregon Bioscience Association OBA's mission is to promote the growth and quality of the bioscience industry in the State of Oregon and ensure it achieves its full economic and social potential. OBA is a non-profit association with membership open to any company, organization or individual with an interest in biotechnology, medical devices, or the life sciences. They list a good number of job openings in the bioscience field on the site.
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Portland OR Job Compendium The opening page states, "Welcome to my jobs page. This is not meant to be beautiful -- just usable". That is an understatement as the site is very usable and helpful - numerous links to job hunting sites and employers.
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Oregon Employment Department Lists job opening throughout the state of Oregon.
Women and Diversity Sites for Finding a Job
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Career Women Career portal by and for women. Post your resume, search CW job bank, career women resources and more.
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Diversity Search Diversity career portal for minorities, females and other diversity job seekers and diversity recruiters.
Green Job Resources
Employers in the Portland area that are devoted to green technology: SolarWorld (solar panels), Portland Energy Conservation Inc. (electricity generation), and Vestas (wind power).
Online Job Boards
Social Networks
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Green Drinks Beer, conversation, and a chance to network with other environmentally minded people. The group meets at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, first floor, Ecotrust, 721 N.W. Ninth Avenue. Green Drinks also meets in Oregon cities such as Eugene, Hood River, and Vancouver. Find your city at greendrinks.org/index.php
Education Institutions to Help you Prepare for a Green Job
Government grants can help pay for training. In most cases, laid-off workers enrolled in an approved program can continue to receive unemployment benefits. To determine eligibility, find the WorkSource Center near you at www2.worksourceportlandmetro.org.
Employers in The Portland Area
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AT&T The world’s largest communications company.
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Fred Meyer Known as Freddie to the locals - this is where many Oregonians get their food. Subsidiary of Kroger.
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Freightliner Makers of heavy duty trucks. The corporate office and largest assembly plant is located in Portland with about 4,000 employees. Subsidiary of ChryslerDaimler.
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Hewlett Packard One of high tech employer in Oregon. Most of the jobs are in Corvallis which is 75 miles southwest of Portland and Vancouver. HP is reducing the number of Oregon employees as jobs are being outsourced as well as shifted to overseas.
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Intel Oregon's largest private employer with about 15,000 employees in the Portland area. Chip fab plus R&D center.
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Legacy Health Systems Legacy employees 8,500 people in Oregon working in their hospitals and clinics.
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Macy's The Meier and Frank department stores have a long history in Oregon. The Meier and Frank name disappeared in 2007 as the popular Pacific Northwest chain was purchased by Macy's.
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Nike The whoosh! One of two Fortune 500 companirs in Oregon − they employ about 3,500 at their corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
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Oregon Health Science University Depending upon how you count, it is one of Portland top employers (over 11,000 employees). You will want to consider OHSU for a job as its reputation is increasing daily as a top health research and health care facility.
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Providence Health System A not-for-profit health care company (hospitals and clinics) with facilities in Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington. Providence is the 2nd largest employer in Oregon with 13,700 jobs.
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Tektronix Corporate headquarters is located in Beaverton (first suburb west of Portland) and the first high tech company in Oregon. Tektronix is focused on five key product areas: 1) Oscilloscopes, 2) communications (lead-generation RF and broadcast test solutions), 3) networked video, 4) television (Tektronix is the world's leading supplier of television test solutions), 5) and Digital, Optical and Accessories. The printer division was sold off in 1999.
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Wal-Mart Stores The "Always Low Prices" company has 11,000 employees in Oregon.
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Top 50 Companies in Oregon The region's Top 50 public companies by total market value as of the first quarter, 2007. Source: Bloomberg News and The Oregonian.
Government/Public Employers in Portland and Oregon
Education Employers in The Portland Area
Employment Agencies/Headhunters
With numerous staffing/employment agencies located in the Portland Metro area, it is impossible to list them all. We suggest the following:
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Search the Qwest online telephone directory for Portland and use the category "Employment Agencies".
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American Staffing Association A member association for staffing companies. Try the JobSeek page where you pick the state, skills, and type of position desired - this will take you to a list of staffing companies. The Oregon Chapter is located in Portland.
Oregon Labor Market Information
Networking
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Concrete The Studio is a monthly salon event at a webshop with an art gallery.
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AIGA Portland is an all-volunteer organization that connects local designers to the collective voice, experience, and resources of 52 AIGA chapters nationwide. Check out the dMob events on the AIGA Web site.
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Portland PHP User Group is a techie group of production folk who like to have a good time. That's worth checking out if you're a geek that doesn't want a "seminar."
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