Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is the current list of largest private employers in the Portland metro area with the number of employees. If you expand the list to public employers then the school districts, hospitals, universities, and governments will all be near the top.
(EDIT: Seems like there are some missing entries, like Fred Meyer (Kroger) which has a LOT of stores in the metro area)
Good lists. Yes, I think they are still some important missing companies especially related to the things I would look for. For example, HP and a good number of technical consulting companies like:
Deloitte
Slalom Consulting
Ampere Computing
Avani Technology Solutions
Lam Research
Then, as you mentioned, there are a lot of public and health related employers such as Cambria Health Solutions. And there are Biotech research firms doing some really cool things.
Good lists. Yes, I think they are still some important missing companies especially related to the things I would look for. For example, HP and a good number of technical consulting companies like:
Deloitte
Slalom Consulting
Ampere Computing
Avani Technology Solutions
Lam Research
Then, as you mentioned, there are a lot of public and health related employers such as Cambria Health Solutions. And there are Biotech research firms doing some really cool things.
Derek
Yes, I think they are missing a bunch. For example retail. There should be way more than 300 employees working for Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc. in the greater Portland area. Also the other big banks that have branches all over the place must have way more than 300 employees so should also be on the list. But it is still a good starting place to understand the local economy.
Yes, I think they are missing a bunch. For example retail. There should be way more than 300 employees working for Costco, Wal-Mart, Home Depot etc. in the greater Portland area. Also thtee other big banks that have branches all over the place must have way more than 300 employees so should also be on the list. But it is still a good starting place to understand the local economy.
The same could be said for other industries such as Real Estate/Construction development and maintenance. There are some big PNW Builders with lots of support staff. Even their tradesmen are are constantly busy. Its not easy finding a good plumber or electrician. They are not cheap either.
The food/restaurant/grocery industry is another.
I know some don't think of working for Home Depot or Chick Fil A as 'careers,' but they certainly can be. Home Depot actually has an IT department, for example. And Chick Fil A owner/managers probably earn more than anyone working at Nike or Intel besides senior executives.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 02-26-2020 at 02:22 PM..
It's clear, that Intel and Nike, are by far, the biggest private employers in the Region. Many of the other ones, I usually don't see many new openings other than software developers and other high tech roles. Many jobs are not even FTE, but rather contract or temporary in nature. Based on the comments on this thread, it sounds like the jobs related to the cities growth, are in-demand (ie Construction, Trades, Health/Medical).
Quote:
Originally Posted by texasdiver
Here is the current list of largest private employers in the Portland metro area with the number of employees. If you expand the list to public employers then the school districts, hospitals, universities, and governments will all be near the top.
(EDIT: Seems like there are some missing entries, like Fred Meyer (Kroger) which has a LOT of stores in the metro area)
1 Intel Hillsboro 20,000
2 Nike Inc. Beaverton 12,000
3 U.S. Bank Portland 4,031
4 Precision Castparts Corp. Portland 3,849
5 Wells Fargo Portland 3,721
6 Daimler Trucks North America Portland 3,000
7 The Standard Portland 2,277
8 adidas North America Inc. Portland 1,768
9 Columbia Sportswear Co. Portland 1,732
10 The Boeing Co. Portland 1,500
Last edited by harrishawke; 02-26-2020 at 02:33 PM..
It's clear, that Intel and Nike, are by far, the biggest private employers in the Region. Many of the other ones, I usually don't see many new openings other than software developers and other high tech roles. Many jobs are not even FTE, but rather contract or temporary in nature. Based on the comments on this thread, it sounds like the jobs related to the cities growth, are in-demand (ie Construction, Trades, Health/Medical).
High tech opportunities will continue to expand simply because they span every industry. And that trend will only increase with more automation and digitization of global markets.
In terms of other occupations, the answer will always be 'it varies' depending on the job. While Portland will never be the career powerhouse of Seattle, Silicon Valley or other larger markets, it definitely is the largest in the state. The other thing to keep in mind when comparing sheer numbers, like the most employees, is that sometimes the best opportunities can be found within smaller organizations, even startups, if the right opportunity presents itself. So I wouldn't use size as the only metric. You only need 'one' good job when looking. And if a smaller company is doing more interesting work and provides decent compensation, it just might be the best opportunity even over the larger firms.
There are also much larger organizations with a presence in Portland and even more that allow telecommute options as an increasing trend.
Regarding part-time only work, I haven't seen it. But I would think that varies greatly by profession. I could see this for adjunct college professors (heard local stories), artisans, handymen, nurses at smaller clinics, substitute teachers, etc... Those are also common in other markets as well. What other careers only offer part-time that might be unique to the Portland metro area? There probably are some careers that would be better served in other parts of the country with a different supply/demand curve.
Regarding part-time only work, I haven't seen it. But I would think that varies greatly by profession. I could see this for adjunct college professors (heard local stories), artisans, handymen, nurses at smaller clinics, substitute teachers, etc... Those are also common in other markets as well. What other careers only offer part-time that might be unique to the Portland metro area? There probably are some careers that would be better served in other parts of the country with a different supply/demand curve.
Part-time work is a growing trend everywhere in the US. I don't think there are any part-time trends that are unique to Portland.
I do think that underemployment is more common on the west coast generally but that is more because people have always been willing to put up with being underemployed or partially employed so they can maintain their surfing, ski bum, rock climbing, kayaking, etc. habits.
No one puts up with part-time underemployment just to live in Houston, for example.
But the skyrocketing cost of living is making that much more difficult. I had friends from HS in the 1980s who could move to Bend and support their skiiing/kayaking/rock climbing obsessions with various part-time jobs and still buy houses. That is utterly impossible today.
Some of my Oregon friends have left PDX, and settled into other parts of Oregon. The quality of living is nearly the same, but COL is significantly lower.
Part-time work is a growing trend everywhere in the US. I don't think there are any part-time trends that are unique to Portland.
I do think that underemployment is more common on the west coast generally but that is more because people have always been willing to put up with being underemployed or partially employed so they can maintain their surfing, ski bum, rock climbing, kayaking, etc. habits.
No one puts up with part-time underemployment just to live in Houston, for example.
But the skyrocketing cost of living is making that much more difficult. I had friends from HS in the 1980s who could move to Bend and support their skiiing/kayaking/rock climbing obsessions with various part-time jobs and still buy houses. That is utterly impossible today.
Yeah, I've got friends from that same era who were surf, ski, adventure sport bums. Unlike the stereotypes, some were highly intelligent. Given the choice, they simply wanted to do their passion above and beyond other life goals/priorities. And some did manage to buy their own homes in between exotic surf trips or ski expeditions. Though they didn't buy in CA. Some moved to the PNW, CO, HI, the south, Mexico, etc... Others, like my friend who joined the Coast Guard, bought a home in Puerto Rico while stationed there. And now he's retired in his 50s while traveling the world (on a shoestring) surfing and exploring with wife just like he did when in his 20s.
Is that lifestyle still possible in the PNW? Well, one such ski bum friend living near Mt. Rainier is still living that dream. Though he plans to buy more land and build his own home further east of the Cascades. He was mentioning how much more affordable land is out there. He wasn't really thinking so much about great job opportunities as much as access to the mountain sports he loves. While that same lifestyle may no longer be possible in Bend (too overhyped, overpriced and trendy), there probably are other more affordable options in outer PNW locations. Heck, maybe even on this side of the Cascades further south. Lots of little towns out there. Maybe one only needs an average wage to live and play? Maybe a decent city, county job or retail (management, driver), real estate type job would be enough? Or even a modest retirement will be enough to do so? At least that's the dream for some, I think.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 02-28-2020 at 04:57 PM..
Honestly, Oregon has always been an economic backwater and probably always will be. I grew up here and my family goes back 5 generations in the Willamette Valley. Portland has always been reasonably prosperous but in a very middle class parochial sort of way. Local doctors, lawyers, developers, merchants, etc. at the top of the heap. Lots of middle class teachers, nurses, fire/police officers, accountants, etc. in the middle. And lots of blue collar laborers in construction, maritime industries, timber, manufacturing, food processing etc.
Some of that has been hollowed out as local chains like Fred Meyer get bought out by national chains like Kroger and get streamlined. Maritime industry jobs have been declining due to mechanization and the self-immolation of the longshoreman's union. But it's always been something of a provincial sort of place where local youth could attend local schools and colleges, and graduate out to become local teachers, nurses, accountants, pharmacists, etc. at modest regional wages that might not have been competitive with east coast wages, but then neither were costs. Back in say the 1950s local teachers, accountants, and nurses weren't competing against waves of young people flooding in from other states like today so the economy was more stable and staid.
In recent decades, Portland has more or less become discovered and way too many young people have flooded into the area expecting to find the sorts of service and business jobs they have trained for elsewhere. And there just aren't enough to go around. And the local world-class employers like Nike and Intel just aren't growing fast enough, and aren't big enough to support massive growth like Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing do in Seattle. The largest regional employers are mostly in manufacturing not tech so aren't the kinds of jobs that highly educated young people are generally seeking.
The main reason why Portland will never be an economic growth engine like Seattle, San Francisco, or even Austin is because it has no world-class flagship university to stimulate growth like those cities. That's perhaps an accident of history, or was probably intentional on the part of the state's founders who wanted to use universities as a way to expand growth to other parts of the state beyond Portland. In theory, the state could turn Portland State University into that sort of institution but that would take decades and the kind of investment in higher education that Oregon has never been willing to make. The model would be the University of Houston which in the past two decades has risen from a regional commuter school to one of the premier research universities in Texas. But doing so would be fought tooth and nail by UO and OSU which have been bleeding funding for decades themselves, so I don't see that ever happening.
Biggest difference between Portland and other more aggressive parts of the country like CA, TX, and the east coast is that there just seems to be a bigger sense of complacency here. I see that teaching in the local schools. Too many kids just drift along without much ambition, thinking they are going to do things like surf or ski or rock climb while waiting tables or running a coffee cart or running a comic book store and everyone from teachers to parents just kind of shrug and say fine. Where I have worked in both TX and the east coast there is just a much more aggressive achievement-oriented culture. Parents and teachers would come unglued if a smart kid decided to live out of a van and surf/ski for a couple of years. No one hardly blinks about that here.
I think you said it all.
If i would want to put in blunt words, portland is way too overrated.
And it is not even cheap anymore - the same paycheck from new jersey will give you higher in hand pay for most pay brackets which is insane given how much bigger market nyc metro area is.
And somebody mentioned work ethics in portland being lower than midwest or east coast.No sir - definitely not the east coast.The reason is that region has way more competition in any kind of jobs and hence you seldom see any office occupied later than 4:30 or 5:00 PM.
You can get lots of experience in Portland metro but keep in mind the fact that increases in pay are based on current earnings. A better strategy is to start in Seattle metro, work there for 4-7 years then seek employment in Portland.
The problem with Seattle is rent there is 1.5 - 2 times more than in Portland. Average 1 bed/baths in Seattle range from 2.5 - 3k per month. You can get a little cheaper if you want a studio or an apartment in a century old building that would collapse if the Cascadia quake happens.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
