The Occupational Employment Statistics report for May of 2007, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows that there were 29,700 registered nurses practicing their trade in Oregon nursing jobs at that time, and that their average annual wage was $67,250, which works out to $32.33 per hour. This is significantly higher than the average annual wage for registered nurses working in all states at the time, which was $62,480 ($30.04 per hour), and also considerably higher than the average annual wage for all workers across industries in Oregon, which was $40,040 ($19.25 per hour) at that time. These statistics show that Oregonians who choose Oregon nursing careers are making higher than average pay and enjoying a better than average standard of living.
This will only get better as the nursing industry across the nation expands an impressive 23% by the year 2016, according to projections published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009 Edition. This would mean an additional 587,000 jobs for registered nurses across the nation and is one of the largest expected growth rates across industries. The demand for registered nurses is expected to increase due to the nation’s growing population, the aging of the population, the rate of registered nurses retiring and the ongoing trend towards nurses providing additional patient services in an effort to keep health care costs down. Prospective nurses looking into Oregon nursing programs can expect to enjoy this same increasing demand in Oregon.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009 Edition also notes that the future employment prospects for registered nurses will depend at least partly on the degree they hold. For example, students who choose to complete Oregon nursing programs that confer a bachelor’s degree or higher can anticipate having better employment opportunities and career advancement opportunities than students who do not complete a bachelor-level program.