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EMBARGOED UNTIL 12:01 A.M. EST, MARCH 9, 2004 (TUESDAY)
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CB04-37 |
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| David McMahon |
Eric Moore, Senior Analyst |
| Public Information Office |
Oregon Employment Department |
| (301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax) |
Workforce and Economic Research |
| (301) 457-1037 (TDD) |
(503) 947-1267 |
| e-mail: pio.2010@census.gov |
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As It Ages Oregon’s Workforce
Remains on the Job
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From
1991-2002, more and more working Oregonians were age 45 and over and the
proportion who were 65 years and older increased slightly, the U.S. Census
Bureau said today. The analysis of Oregon’s older workers is the
first publicly released report based on a new Census Bureau program,
Local Employment Dynamics (LED).
The report, A Profile of Older Workers in Oregon [pdf], highlights the age composition of Oregon’s workforce;
job gains and losses for older workers by industry; industries in which
older workers are concentrated, their job stability and earnings.
“States have had economic
indicators for industries before, and they have had demographic characteristics
of workers before,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.
“What is unique about LED is that it provides quarterly economic
indicators about industries along with the characteristics of workers
in those industries. The indicators give new insight into each state’s
economy and how fluid employment is in local areas.”
Indicators are provided for
participating state and substate areas. Some highlights from the report:
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• In 2002, workers 65 and over in Oregon were most
likely to be employed in the following industries: eating and drinking
places, business services, health services
and membership organizations.
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• The average quarterly turnover rate for the top
10 employers of workers 65 and older in 2002 was highest in eating
and drinking places (13 percent) and business services (15 percent).
The lowest was in the membership organization industry (8 percent).
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• On average, older workers who worked a full quarter
in 2002 earned $1,861 a month compared with $2,890 a month
for workers 14 and over.
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• Average earnings varied greatly by industry. For
example, eating and drinking places employed 8 percent of workers
65 and over, and they averaged $1,062 a month.
That contrasts with the highest earnings of $5,535 for comparable
workers in manufacturing of primary metals (although this
industry employed just over 100 workers 65
and older).
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The LED is a partnership between
27 state employment agencies and the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau will
be releasing reports for other partner states on a variety of topics over
the coming year.
Because the statistics come from
a mixture of sources, they are not directly comparable with statistics from
worker-based surveys such as the decennial census, the American Community
Survey and the Current Population Survey. Industries are based on the Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) system. The LED program soon will convert
from the SIC system to the North American Industry Classification System.
As in all data collection processes, the results are subject to nonsampling
error, such as data processing error or nonresponse.
Additional information about the
program can be found at <http://lehd.dsd.census.gov>.
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