Unless you're a Burlington, Ontario lawyer retiring to Salem for your health, chances are you're going to be in the market for a job if you're planning on relocating to Salem. Even in a recession, mortgages aren't cheap, and recessions make it difficult to find a job. To take away some of the anxiety this process will no doubt inspire in you, we've created this guide to employment in the Salem area. It is by no means all-encompassing, but it should help point you in the right direction.

Government

State and local governments offer jobs to people of a variety of skill sets provided that they are able to meet certain requirements for trustworthiness and citizenship. The teaching positions at the local school board fall under this category, as do groundskeeping and cleanup positions like waste water grit removal or landscaping. Salem's city government also has room for administrators and clerks as well as corrections officers, since Salem is the headquarters of the state corrections department and has four penitentiaries.

Agriculture and Construction

Though Salem is undoubtedly a city, the surrounding area is very rural and contains a lot of undeveloped areas. This means there are opportunities for real estate developers and construction workers as well as people with farming experience. You could either work on a farm yourself or enter the sector though a side door by selling custom banding solutions and other essential farming machines to farmers. Or you could work in one of the food processing facilities in the city itself.

Technology and Manufacturing

Factories in Salem turn out more than just processed food. Fabricated metal products like ducting or swaged fittings are produced in the city along with wood and paper products and prefabricated houses. In recent years, Salem's legislators have seen the benefits of a more diversified economy and have made an effort to attract companies in the job sector of the future: technology. Those firms that have responded to the call bring opportunity for engineers as well as factory workers with experience producing electronics.

Health Care

One job sector that is always present in every location is health care. People will always get sick and injure themselves in transfer conveyor accidents, and when that happens, the doctors, nurses and support staff at Salem Hospital and the Oregon State Hospital will be there to put them right again. In fact, health care is quite a large part of Salem's economy, considering Salem Hospital is the largest employer in the city.