Oregon mix: Job growth, but fewer newcomers

A new federal report finds that Oregon’s job growth in 2013 ranked among the fastest in the nation.

Oregon had the third-fastest job growth last year. Only North Dakota and Florida added more jobs in 2013, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The state’s job growth included most sectors. But the financial industry, which includes banking, insurance, and real estate, did not see any recovery. Government held steady and stopped cutting jobs.

“The jobs recovery that we’ve been waiting to happen is finally here,” said Nick Beleiciks, a state employment economist. “It still doesn’t mean things are great in all areas or that things are going great for everybody, but that strong job growth that we’ve been waiting for coming out of the recession is finally occurring.”

Beleiciks said Oregon should be fully recovered by mid-2015 if jobs continue to be added at this rate.

Most states added jobs in 2013. Only Alaska and the District of Columbia saw a decline.

New census figures , meanwhile, show a drop in the number of people who moved to Oregon in 2013. Nationally, the state fell two notches down to the 16th spot.

The 2013 Census shows 16,590 people moved to Oregon last year. Internationally, Oregon attracted people mainly from Asia and South America. Domestically, people mainly moved from California to Oregon. But many Oregonians left for Washington state.

“The employment opportunity is getting better every day, every year,” said Kanhaiya Vaidya, an economist with Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis. “As long as we have job opportunities and our state is nice place to live people will keep coming.”

Vaidya said the state’s population grew by about 30,000 people last year. Migration is the primary reason for that growth.

Fewer Oregonians are having babies and, with the state’s older population, deaths are outpacing births.

Oregon’s population growth is slightly higher than the national average.