Federal Cuts Will Impact Rural Oregon

Cuts to the federal workforce will have a greater impact on rural Oregon. Oregon is home to more than 28,000 federal employees. Gail Krumenauer, an economist at the Oregon Employment Department, said, based on the population, federal workforce cuts in rural counties will have a greater impact because they have a higher percentage of federal workers.

"It does tend to be a higher share in many of Oregon's rural counties," she noted. "For example, in Sherman County federal government employment made up about 14% of the total."

Other top counties are Grant, Harney, and Lake, which Krumenauer pointed out are heavily dependent on the U.S. Forest Service.

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture employed nearly 4,000, which included almost 3,400 workers at U.S. Forest Service jobs."

The federal agencies with the most workers in Oregon are: