(Sarah Lindsey, BBSI Central Oregon; Sam Lambert, Mid Oregon Personnel; Chris Petty, Express Employment Professionals; and Matt Ertle, PrideStaff Bend)
Sarah Lindsey
Human Resources Consultant
BBSI Central Oregon
BBSI.com/CentralOregon
How is AI impacting the current job market in Central Oregon? Is your company implementing any AI training or strategies to help navigate these changes?
BBSI works with more than 60 businesses across Central Oregon, and at this point, we are not seeing significant shifts in the labor market directly tied to AI adoption. Instead, AI is primarily influencing how work gets done — serving as an additional tool that enhances employee productivity and efficiency rather than replacing roles.
Personally, I have attended a variety of AI trainings, both online and in person. At BBSI, our current approach is to empower individuals to explore how AI can support their specific roles, rather than implementing a standardized, company-wide mandate.
Which industries in Central Oregon are in need the most for employees? What are the challenges in filling these positions?
Among our client base, the greatest demand for employees continues to be in healthcare and manufacturing. We are also still seeing hiring challenges in the hospitality industry, particularly when it comes to finding reliable and consistent workers.
This is occurring despite a somewhat softened labor market compared to the post-pandemic peak in 2021-2022. Employers are finding that while applicant flow may have improved, candidate reliability, skills alignment, and long-term retention remain key challenges.
How does affordable housing play in attracting employees? Do you believe the community, including local and state officials, are doing enough to address the issue?
Housing affordability is a significant factor in workforce attraction and retention. Employers are facing increasing pressure from employees to raise wages due to the rising cost of living. Housing costs, along with gas and food prices, are creating a financial squeeze for many workers.
This issue continues to be one of the most critical barriers to sustaining and growing the workforce in Central Oregon.
How has remote work changed over the past five years and where do you see it going over the next five?
Remote work is a bit like a genie that has been let out of the bottle — it’s unlikely to fully return to pre-pandemic norms. The rapid shift during COVID-19 demonstrated that remote work can be successful when managed effectively.
Today, many employees strongly prefer remote or hybrid options and are less willing to return to a traditional five-day, in-office schedule. However, with the labor market currently giving employers more leverage, organizations have more flexibility to set expectations around workplace structure.
Looking ahead, I expect a continued balance between employer-driven policies and employee demand for flexibility.
Sam Lambert
Vice President
Mid Oregon Personnel
midoregonpersonnel.com
How is AI impacting the current job market in Central Oregon? Is your company implementing any AI training or strategies to help navigate these changes?
While there have been workforce reductions with some of the nation’s largest tech companies due to AI, we have not seen a negative impact on the job market in Central Oregon. While AI is proving to be a strong tool and is helping employees be more efficient, we continue to see strong job creation and investment by the region’s largest job creators. At Mid Oregon Personnel we use AI daily for all sorts of administrative tasks, creative work, and streamlining workflows. As a Human Resource company, for Mid Oregon Personnel, it is important to maintain personal connections with our employees and not take the human element out of the Human Resource business.
Which industries in Central Oregon are in need the most for employees? What are the challenges in filling these positions?
Medical, biochemical, manufacturing, and construction are all growing at a rapid pace. This growth has created strong competition for the available workforce in Central Oregon. Cost of living and childcare continues to challenge our workforce in finding a living wage.
How does affordable housing play in attracting employees? Do you believe the community, including local and state officials, are doing enough to address the issue?
Affordable housing has been a consistent challenge in Central Oregon for the last 20 years. While there have been strong efforts to address this challenge, I believe we do need to do more at both the local and state levels to reduce the cost of new construction and increase availability.
How has remote work changed over the past five years and where do you see it going over the next five?
There are not a lot of remote work opportunities created here locally, however there is a large number of remote workers who have relocated here, and remote work is here to stay. It seems to have peaked between three-five years ago and has leveled off since. There are certain industries where remote work makes a lot of sense but for many companies there is more value in a collaborative in office environment. While technology will continue to make remote work a very viable option, I believe that the current trends will most likely continue for the foreseeable future.
Additional comments or challenges we need to address in Central Oregon?
While many of our challenges are created on a State or National level, there are things that we can do at the local level. We need to continue to invest in workforce readiness and development across all sectors including higher education and the trades. COCC, OSU-Cascades and local nonprofit organizations are all tackling workforce readiness and there are many opportunities for all of us to get involved to support these efforts.
Chris Petty
Owner
Express Employment Professionals
expresspros.com/bendor
How is AI impacting the current job market in Central Oregon? Is your company implementing any AI training or strategies to help navigate these changes?
AI has significantly reshaped the job market across Central Oregon. From resume creation to job descriptions, it has removed barriers between candidates and employers in ways we have never seen before. At our company, we utilize AI daily to help our clients and local businesses operate more efficiently and support sustainable growth.
Which industries in Central Oregon are in need the most for employees? What are the challenges in filling these positions?
The two industries currently experiencing the greatest need for employees in Central Oregon are industrial manufacturing and healthcare. One of the primary challenges in filling these roles is the region’s high cost of living. It can be difficult to attract and retain a stable local workforce when many workers are priced out of the area despite the availability of quality jobs.
How does affordable housing play in attracting employees? Do you believe the community, including local and state officials, are doing enough to address the issue?
Affordable housing plays a critical role in attracting and retaining employees, but there are challenges within the current system. While affordable housing is an important solution in theory, many individuals find themselves in a difficult position where they qualify initially, only to lose eligibility due to modest income increases—yet they still cannot afford market-rate housing. There is a clear need for a more balanced approach that supports workforce retention while allowing individuals to progress financially without being penalized. Addressing this gap is essential to sustaining and growing Central
Oregon’s workforce.
How has remote work changed over the past five years, and where do you see it going over the next five?
Remote work has evolved considerably over the past five years. Tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have enhanced daily operations, allowing businesses to connect with clients and partners globally. However, there has been a noticeable shift back toward in-office work, with many organizations adopting hybrid models that require more in-person time. While this trend will likely continue, it is clear that remote work will remain a permanent part of the modern workforce landscape.
Additional comments or challenges we need to address in Central Oregon?
One of the most pressing ongoing challenges in Central Oregon is the cost of living. While meaningful solutions may require action beyond the business community alone, it remains a key factor affecting workforce stability and growth. That said, there is reason for optimism. Communities such as Redmond, Prineville, La Pine, and Madras are experiencing significant expansion, bringing thousands of new jobs to the region. This growth is expected to strengthen local economies and create more accessible, well-paying opportunities
for residents.
Matt Ertle
Owner/Strategic Partner
PrideStaff Bend
pridestaff.com/bend
How is AI impacting the current job market in Central Oregon? Is your company implementing any AI training or strategies to help navigate these changes?
We are seeing AI being used to augment and accelerate workflows by many organizations in the region. At this point, reports from the workforce and organizations are that AI is helping to make non-human thinking tasks more enjoyable to perform. Our organization does engage in ongoing AI safety training and also best practices evaluating how we can incorporate into daily activities. We are quick to recognize the benefits of AI, yet cautiously implementing into our processes where it makes sense.
Which industries in Central Oregon are in need the most for employees? What are the challenges in filling these positions?
Healthcare will remain the main industry that continues to have high demand in our region, along with every industry that requires entry level personnel at pay rates less than $21/hr. We are performing very well as a region compared to the rest of the PNW in this category because we are not losing jobs, and we are adding overall jobs as a region.
The fundamentals of workforce shortages over the next decade in the U.S., Oregon, and our region still remain. We have an overall workforce shortage and this will continue, with minor and temporary fluctuations.
How does affordable housing play in attracting employees? Do you believe the community, including local and state officials, are doing enough to address the issue?
Local officials, advocacy groups, contractors, and developers have done a great job in our region adding supply of all types of housing. We see this in all communities within Central Oregon where officials have leveraged state laws to expand UGBs, and aggressively pursued public and private funding for different housing developments. Overtime, these efforts will help minimize the increasing cost of housing for our region.
The direct impact of Oregon’s land use laws, state regulations, and local regulations will continue to have upward pressure on housing costs and this is an area to monitor.
How has remote work changed over the past five years and where do you see it going over the next five?
Employers, along with the workforce, are now acutely aware of the need to analyze which positions and functions can be performed remotely and what can, or needs to be, performed in the office. More than anything the last six years has brought awareness to this topic and we will see a continued evolution of remote, hybrid and in person work opportunities and requirements. We find just as many people working remotely that want to return the office as we do people working in the office that want to migrate towards remote opportunities.
Additional comments or challenges we need to address in Central Oregon?
This is a great time to be in Central Oregon. We are experiencing moderate growth in our region compared to some of the hyper growth periods over the past 20 years and this is expected to continue over the next five years.
