COLUMN: Construction jobs expected to grow in Salem, while manufacturing declines

Two industries employing small numbers of workers in the Salem area (out of the total private sector workforce of 141,600 workers) are nevertheless very important to the economy. These are construction and manufacturing.

Construction workers keep residential and commercial construction going, as well as infrastructure projects such as building and repairing roads and bridges. The U.S. is second in manufacturing output (after China). According to a Brookings study, the industry is an important source of innovation in the economy generally and contributes in a major way to environmental sustainability.     

And both industries are important to job seekers, as workers in some construction and manufacturing occupations earn above average wages without needing a bachelor’s degree (with some caveats, which we’ll discuss in a bit). 

What are employment and wage trends in these two vital industries? Let’s start with construction.

Salem’s construction industry employed 13,000 workers in February 2025, only 9 percent of total private employment. 

The industry, not surprisingly, has been sensitive to recessions. Construction employment declined in the recession of the early 2000s, then grew 54 percent from 2003 to 2007 (see graph below). When the Great Recession hit in 2008, construction lost nearly a quarter of its jobs and took ten years to recover them back. 

What about recent trends? 

Analyzing March through October of 2023 (peak employment months) and comparing these months to March through October of 2024, construction employment stayed stable or declined slightly in all eight of these comparisons – for example, the industry employed 14,300 workers in August of 2023 and 14,100 in August of 2024. 

Some key demographics of the construction workforce are as follows:

• The workforce is not as skewed toward older workers as it was in 2001 – 53 percent of workers in 2001 were age 45 and older, and in 2024, 47 percent were.
• The percentage of male and female workers has stayed the same over 23 years – 22 percent female and 78 percent male.
• Latinos comprised 6 percent of the construction workforce in 2001 and 20 percent in 2024.

According to Oregon Employment Department’s occupational projections, employment growth in the construction industry over the next ten years will be 14 percent, twice that of overall growth. There will be 17,000 total construction job openings (growth and replacement openings) – 5 percent of all openings.

Two-thirds of these will occur in five occupations: construction laborers, carpenters, painters, electricians and supervisors (see table).

And, 43 percent of all construction openings will require less than high school to enter. The remaining openings require a high school diploma, and there are a handful that require several years of training as well. These include electricians, plumbers and supervisors.

What about wage trends? 

Ideally, we’d compare occupational wages over time to see if they’ve kept up with inflation, but the available information is compiled from a sample of wage earners. The types and sizes of businesses from which the sample is drawn will vary considerably from year to year, making it difficult to draw valid conclusions about occupational wage trends.

A more reliable way to analyze wages in any particular occupation is to see how they stack up to the overall median wage for all occupations in any one year. The median wage is where half of the earners make more and half make less. 

So, using this method, and according to the employment department’s latest wage survey (2023), the median hourly wage for all workers in all occupations in the Salem area was $23.85. 

Six in ten construction workers in 2023 were paid above the overall median wage of $23.85. And these workers worked in occupations that had competitive edge entry requirements of non-degree post-secondary training – this is specific job-related training not resulting in a degree.

Examples of these types of occupations are those of plumbers and electricians, both requiring extensive job training.

However, the occupation with the most workers in the industry (3,427 workers) was that of construction laborer, an occupation requiring less than high school to enter. These workers earned less than the overall median wage.

Now turning to manufacturing. Salem’s manufacturing industry employed 11,500 workers in February of 2025, and comprises durables manufacturing (5,900 workers) and non-durables, mostly food (5,600 workers). Durables and non-durables manufacturing employment comprises 8 percent of private sector employment. 

Durables include items such as wood products, machines, machine parts, semiconductor chips, cabinets and industrial windshield wipers. Since 2001, durable goods employment has declined 25 percent, and non-durables by 16 percent.

Steady decline in durable goods employment has been the norm since the late 1970s, in Salem, Oregon and the U.S. The reasons most often given for the decline are offshoring of jobs and improvements in technology. 

The employment decline in non-durables is largely due to closure of some of the large food canneries that historically dominated food manufacturing in Salem. As consumer tastes have changed, there’s been an increase in smaller niche food manufacturers of items such as potato chips, soy sauce, cheeses and tortillas.

What about recent trends? From 2023 through 2024, monthly employment in durables manufacturing has fluctuated up and down by a few hundred jobs. February 2025 employment was at 5,900 jobs. 

Over the last two years, food manufacturing employment peaked at approximately 4,500 workers in the summer months, and declined some in winter months. Food manufacturing employment was 3,800 in February of 2025. 

Some key demographics of the manufacturing workforce are as follows:

• The workforce is older now than in 2001; back then, 37 percent of workers were aged 45 and older, and in 2024, 52 percent were.
• The percentage of women workers has increased since 2001 – it was 31 percent in 2001 and 34 percent in 2004.
• The Latino workforce increased from 18 percent in 2001 to 32 percent in 2024.

The employment department’s occupational projections show growth for manufacturing employment over the next ten years at a bit over 4 percent, half that of overall employment growth. Growth and replacement openings over the ten years number nearly 20,000, 5 percent of all total job openings.

One-third of manufacturing openings will occur in five occupations – assemblers and fabricators, supervisors, welders, inspectors, testers and sorters, and packaging and filling machine operators. 

Most manufacturing occupations require a high school diploma for entry, and 15 occupations require post-secondary training (non-degree) as a competitive edge requirement. 

What about wages? Again, from the 2023 state survey, nearly a quarter of all manufacturing workers were paid above the overall median wage of $23.85. And these workers were in occupations that had competitive edge entry requirements of non-degree post-secondary training.

To summarize: Construction industry employment has had ups and downs and will likely continue to do so, but overall will grow. Manufacturing employment, especially in durables, will likely continue to decline. And, workers in both industries will continue to need training in order to earn above-average wages.

The local workforce board, the Willamette Workforce Partnership (which sponsors this column) helps to fill training gaps by providing job seekers with access to and financial subsidies for job training through its network of training providers.

WWP also aids local employers in skilling up their current workforce. As an example, over the last two years WWP has funded 11 area manufacturers to provide their workers training in various aspects of organizational, leadership and technological advancement.

Job seekers and area employers may access information about WWP’s services online.

A brief endnote: There’s talk of a weakening economy, but employment in Salem has been growing slowly and steadily and the unemployment rate as of March was still low.

The next column will appear in July – stay tuned!

Pam Ferrara of the Willamette Workforce Partnership continues a regular column examining local economic issues. She may be contacted at [email protected].

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