2024 Oregon Long Term Care State Report www.ohca.com 16 Economic Impact, Affordability, and Workforce The long term care sector provides significant employment opportunities in Oregon, especially for women, who make up a majority of the long term care workforce. Yet, recruiting, training, and retaining the large number of professionals required to provide highquality care for Oregonians who need these supports is a major challenge. Sector leaders and stakeholders are working continuously to cultivate a pipeline of talent as demand for long term care services and supports grows. Providers in rural Oregon face particularly acute staffing challenges as populations in these areas have, sometimes significantly, proportionately more older adults in need of care than in urban and suburban areas of the state. However, the number of eligible workers is not increasing in these areas making it difficult for long term care facilities to find enough qualified caregivers and medical staff. More than 80,000 Oregonians are currently employed in the long term care sector. This includes approximately 55,000 Oregonians working in assisted living, residential care, and nursing facilities—a return to record levels of employment in this sector last seen in the years directly before the COVID-19 pandemic.29 The long-term care workforce will grow rapidly in the years ahead to serve Oregon’s aging population; however, significant efforts will need to be made to ensure the workforce is trained and available to support care needs. In particular, the demand for home health aides and personal care aides are both projected to increase by more than 25% by 2030.30 The total annual economic footprint of the long term care service sector in Oregon is nearly $10 billion.31 This figure includes direct, indirect, and what economists Oregon Nursing Facility and Assisted Living Facility Employment: 2014–2024 Source: Oregon Employment Department (2024).
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