10/19/2026
U.S. job growth is spreading, but not all markets are growing the same way.
A few takeaways from CoStar’s latest employment analysis:
🏗️ Construction is a bright spot. Employment grew in 35 states, supported by infrastructure, energy, manufacturing facilities and data center projects.
🏥 Healthcare remains a consistent driver. Education and health services added jobs in 49 states.
🏭 Manufacturing remains uneven. Despite signs of improvement nationally, employment was flat or declining in more than half of states.
📍 Location matters. Some states are benefiting from construction and industrial investment, while others face continued weakness in government, financial services and office-oriented industries.
🌲 Oregon faces headwinds. Manufacturing employment declined 2.7% year over year, with construction and education and health services among the few sectors adding jobs.
The commercial real estate takeaway: Employment trends help tell the story behind real estate demand. Industrial investment, population needs and sector-specific hiring can create opportunities, but those trends don't translate evenly across markets or property types.
For Central Oregon, the important question is how national investment and employment trends translate into local demand for commercial space.
Source: CoStar Economy, based on preliminary August employment estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
