Oregon Employment Dept. Report – In 2001, Coos County manufacturing accounted for 8 percent of the county’s employment base. Although the percentage of employment dropped to roughly 7 percent during the recession, today, it still accounts for 8 percent of the county’s employment. Within this sector, two arenas traditionally have dominated the scene. Twenty years ago, wood product manufacturing made up 48 percent of county manufacturing employment, and food manufacturing accounted for 20 percent of the sector employment. By 2018, wood product manufacturing generated 52 percent of overall manufacturing employment. Within this subsector, veneer and engineered wood product manufacturing increased its employment levels. Food manufacturing held relatively steady at 18 percent. In contrast to other manufacturing subsectors, food manufacturing is one of a very few sectors across the county’s economy that has continued to offer relatively stable employment levels before, during, and after the recession. The employment percentages of the manufacturing sector mask an underlying loss of jobs. True, manufacturing appears to be holding its own. In reality, not only does Coos County’s total nonfarm employment remain 4 percent below pre-recession peak levels (-980 jobs), manufacturing is about 110 jobs below peak. In welcome contrast, wood product manufacturing has recovered its former employment level (+100). As new products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panels (MPP) make their way into the marketplace, rural wood product manufacturing is positioned to take advantage of these new technologies and markets. In contrast to Coos County’s total nonfarm employment and its manufacturing sector, Oregon’s total nonfarm employment is now more than 10 percent above the prior peak. Manufacturing is 6 percent below, and the state’s wood product manufacturing employment is more than 28 percent below its high point in 2005.
