While most other Oregon cities saw their job growth go into the red last year, Salem beat the trend, adding hundreds of jobs in manufacturing, finance, transportation, healthcare and government. 

That’s according to data presented at the annual Mid-Valley Economic Summit on Thursday, April 23. The event was hosted by the Strategic Economic Development Corporation, better known as SEDCOR.

The summit drew several business and government leaders to the Salem Convention Center for a detailed overview of the state and the Salem area’s economy. Attendees heard from a slate of speakers that included economists and business leaders, discussing Oregon’s economic conditions in the national context and job growth statewide. 

Business Oregon economist Damon Runberg presented Salem-focused data from the Oregon Employment Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing job growth in the city rose between December 2024 and December 2025. Meanwhile, Oregon lost nearly 23,000 non-farm jobs last year overall, for a 1.1% decline. 

“Salem is really bucking the trend that we’ve seen across the state,” Runberg said. “The only substantive job growth of any metro area in the state in the last year was the Salem (metropolitan statistical area).”

At home, Salem saw a job growth of 1.7%, excluding farm occupations, while Bend, Albany, Eugene-Springfield and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro all had negative job growth. Bend saw a decline of 1.1%, while Salem’s closest neighbor, Albany, saw a 1.7% decline.

Statewide, business, construction and manufacturing industries took the hardest hit. Salem sidestepped much of that, instead gaining about 2,200 transportation jobs, 1,700 health care jobs, 1,300 government and education jobs, 200 finance jobs and even 200 manufacturing jobs, which are shrinking elsewhere.

“Two hundred jobs isn’t a big number there, but once again, at the state level, we’re seeing significant declines in manufacturing,” Runberg said. “We’ve been in a manufacturing recession for probably three years in the state. So to see positive growth in manufacturing really stands out here in this region.”

The city’s job growth is largely bolstered by education, transportation and healthcare jobs.

Salem also has slightly better demographics than the rest of the state. Population growth in the capital city is projected to be slightly above the statewide average, and its decline in youth under 18 is also less severe than statewide rates, Runberg explained. 

Still, Salem’s unemployment rate sits at 5.4%, compared to 5.2% for Oregon, as of February 2026. 

Compared to national conditions, Oregon is underperforming. It currently has the fourth highest unemployment rate nationwide. The national average is 4.3%. 

The state saw broad job losses, around 7,500, in professional and business services professions like law, accounting, advertising and information technology last year. 

Healthcare was the only industry with major gains last year, in large part due to the demand of Oregon’s aging population. It added nearly 9,000 employees.

Oregon’s aging demographics, while beneficial to the healthcare industry, hinder the growth of the state’s labor force. 

The state’s regulatory environment is also forcing business out, and keeping new ones away, speakers said. 

Tim Knopp, who opened the summit, is the chief prosperity officer for Governor Tina Kotek’s Governor’s Prosperity Council. The council is aiming to grow living-wage jobs, keep and attract businesses to Oregon and make Oregon more competitive.

“We have to change the dynamic in Oregon and become more competitive. We need to treat the business community, business owners, risk takers and entrepreneurs like the heroes that they are, because they’re the ones that ultimately create the revenue to fund the programs that all of us care about,” Knopp said.

Oregon is the seventh most regulated state in the country, according to Oregon Business & Industry. 

State policies drive up the cost of doing business in Oregon, and encourage firms to invest and hire people in other states, said Preston Mann, vice president of external affairs of Oregon Business & Industry.

“Our regulatory burden is among the most significant in the nation and continues to grow at very rapid rates, and both employers and employees face one of the highest tax burdens in the entire country, and are seeing frankly disappointing results on that investment. Across the board, it’s becoming very quickly an untenable situation, and regardless of what end of the political spectrum you lie on or who you voted for for president, the alarm bells should really be ringing in your head at this moment,” Mann said.

Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] .

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