Report from the Oregon Employment Dept. – A recent report by state economist Nick Beleiciks revealed that there were over 12,000 maritime sector jobs in Oregon in 2017. Nearly 14 percent of those jobs were in Southwestern Oregon. Coos and Curry counties had the 4th (4.1%) and 5th (3.6%) largest shares of their workforce employed in the maritime sector statewide. This sector encompasses an array of industries, with wages ranging from a low of $27,850 in fish and seafood markets to a high of $139,144 in sea and coastal transportation. Maritime sector jobs in Southwestern Oregon paid an average annual wage of $46,996, 21 percent higher than the average for all jobs in the region. More than one quarter of fishing, maritime manufacturing, and transportation jobs are held by workers 55 years and over. This poses a challenge for employers trying to fill vacancies in the maritime sector as older workers retire.
