The Coastal Employment Base Differs from the Rest of Lane County

by Henry Fields
October 22, 2018

The coastal area of Lane County – consisting of Florence, Dunes City, Mapleton, and the surrounding unincorporated areas – doesn’t have the same employment base as the rest of the county. The graphs compare average 2017 employment in coastal Lane County to the county overall.

Some industries are a much more important part of employment on the coast than for the county as a whole. Leisure and hospitality made up 28 percent of coastal employment, more than double the concentration for the county. Health care made up 19 percent and natural resources 5 percent of local employment, 2 percentage points and 3 percentage points more than the county, respectively.

To make up the balance, certain industries played less of a role in coastal employment. Educational services made up 6 percent of local employment as compared with 10 percent overall. Two sectors were especially underrepresented: professional and business services was only 3 percent of coastal employment (9 percentage points less than the county) and manufacturing represented only 1 percent of coastal employment, versus 9 percent of total county employment.

Looking at local employment patterns may help employers understand their strengths and weaknesses. Manufacturers in western Lane County may have difficulty attracting a critical mass of workers without a labor pool shared with a number of similar businesses, but also might be able to compete favorably for employees in tourism sector industries that have seasonal swings. Similarly, workers should be able to learn more about what opportunities are most and least likely to be available in the local area.

BY: Henry Fields
Workforce Analyst Lane County
henry.l.fields@oregon.gov
1401 Willamette Street Eugene, OR 97401