County’s Top 10 employers remain steady

Most will be employees relocated to Clark County from other PeaceHealth locations, said Ken Cole, a PeaceHealth Southwest spokesman. The health care nonprofit operates nine hospitals in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

All are in addition to some 200 jobs added to PeaceHealth Southwest’s payroll over the past year. The full count of 3,676 jobs at the PeaceHealth headquarters and at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center strengthened the health care provider’s place as the county’s largest employer.

Vancouver Public Schools remained the county’s second-largest employer with 3,200 employees, even with a reduction of 100 jobs. The district reported an increase of 106 students to 21,437 for the year.

Evergreen Public Schools, still the third-largest employer, reported 3,101 full-time and part-time employees, a decline of 39 employees from last year. The district, which experienced 20 percent growth in the 2000s, added just 39 students this year to 25,200 students.

Clark County government, having dropped jobs between 2009 and 2010, held steady in 2011 with 1,555 jobs. Fred Meyer was just behind the county with 1,540 workers in Clark County.

Battle Ground Public Schools, the third school district on the Top 10 list, placed sixth in employment, moving up a notch even with 114 fewer jobs than last year. The district lost 398 students, dropping to 11,909, which officials attributed in part to families relocating in search of jobs.

Camas-based WaferTech, a semiconductor manufacturer, maintained its steady presence as the county’s largest manufacturing employer, with some 1,000 jobs.

The company, which has corporate headquarters in Taiwan, last year invested $1.6 million in energy efficiency.

The federal Bonneville Power Administration, with administrative offices in Portland, continues a large presence in Vancouver, with nearly 1,200 employees at its transmission services operation at the Ross Complex in Hazel Dell.

Rounding out this year’s list were Safeway, dropping several places with 1,041 jobs, and the city of Vancouver with just less than 1,000 city workers.

The total employed workforce of about 128,000 in Clark County remains far below peak employment of nearly 137,000 in late 2007, before the recession hammered the economy. Another 60,000 workers are employed outside the county, and some 20,000 remain unemployed, according to recent figures.Overall employment within the county somewhat tracks the Top 10 listings. Government is the county’s largest employer, followed by health care-social assistance; retail; manufacturing; and accommodations-food services.