Salem Jobs

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. The district of West Salem lies in Polk County. It is located in the mid-Willamette Valley, between Portland and Eugene. As of July 1 2006 it had a population of 149,305, with a metro area population of nearly 400,000, making it the second largest city, and second largest metropolitan area in Oregon . "Salem" is derived from the Hebrew word "Shalom", and the Arabic word "Salam" both meaning "peace". Historically, Salem has been nicknamed the "Cherry City", because of the importance of the local cherry growing industry.

State government is Salem's largest employer, but the city also serves as a hub for the area farming communities and is a major agricultural food processing center. It lies along the I-5 corridor and is within an hour's drive of Oregon's largest city, Portland. In a bid to diversify its economic base, Salem attracted a number of computer-related manufacturing plants in the 1990s. In November 2003, the Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon Group , one of these arrivals, announced it would be closing its two silicon wafer plants at the end of 2004, eliminating 620 jobs, and moving production to other plants. In June 2006, SUMCO announced that its last facility in the city, a technology center, would close by the end of the year. The top private employer in Salem is the Salem Hospital with over 2,700 employees. Others include the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde's Spirit Mountain Casino west of Salem, the T-Mobile Calling Center, GE Security , Norpac Foods Inc. and Roth's Family Markets....more

Among the most common occupations in Salem are Management, professional, and related occupations, 27%; Sales and office occupations, 22%; and Service occupations, 16%. Approximately 65 percent of workers in Salem, Oregon work for companies, 20 percent work for the government and 5 percent are self-employed.

The leading industries in Salem, Oregon are Educational services, and health care, and social assistance, 16%; Public administration, 12%; and Retail trade, 10%. Simply Hired's Salem job listings indicate that the following industries in Salem are hiring the most workers:

According to government data, the average salary for jobs in Salem, Oregon is $32,612, and the median income of households in Salem was $39,259.

Population of Salem Total population 142,006 Male 49.32% Female 50.68% Median age 33.7     Salem Housing Owner-occupied homes 57.8% Median cost of a home $156,600 Median mortgage payment $848 Renter-occupied homes 42.2% Vacant housing 8.3% Median monthly rent $617     Average Income Median for all workers $22,097 Median for all male full-time $35,229 Median for all female full-time $29,996     Household Income Less than $10,000 8% $10,000 to $14,999 7% $15,000 to $24,999 14% $25,000 to $34,999 16% $35,000 to $49,999 17% $50,000 to $74,999 19% $75,000 to $99,999 10% $100,000 to $149,999 6% $150,000 to $199,999 2% $200,000 or more 2%

Education Less than 9th grade 8% 9th to 12th grade, no diploma 9% High school graduate 25% Some college, no degree 25% Associate's degree 8% Bachelor's degree 16% Graduate degree 10%     Marital Status Never married 25% Currently married 51% Separated 5% Widowed 5% Divorced 13%     Race White 82% Black or African American 1% Asian 4% Other 13%     Salem Commute Carpool 16.3% Public transportation 2.4% Average travel time 23 minutes