Oregon employment barely changes in June

July 21 – Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in June and 4.2% in May and has been in a narrow range between 4.0% and 4.2% since October 2023.

Profit and loss

Oregon’s nonfarm payrolls rose 600 in June, seasonally adjusted, after adding 4,000 jobs in May.

Growth in June was greatest in health care and social assistance (+1,200 jobs); financial activities (+800); leisure and hospitality (+700); and other services (+700).

June’s declines were largest in professional and business services (-1,800 jobs) and manufacturing (-600). Health care and social assistance continued to grow rapidly.

In the two-and-a-half-year period from January 2022 to June 2024, 34,000 jobs were added, or 12.8%. Employment growth in social assistance has accelerated in recent months, with the sector adding 8,800 jobs over the past 12 months, or 12.2%.

Meanwhile, the three sectors that make up health care have each created more than 2,000 jobs since June 2023: nursing and personal care homes (+2,700 jobs, or 5.1%); outpatient health care (+2,700 jobs, or 2.7%); and hospitals (+2,200 jobs, or 3.7%).

Despite big gains in health care and a few other industries lately, the list of declining industries is growing. Six major industries have lost significant numbers of jobs over the past 12 months. Three of these major industries have each lost about 3,600 jobs since June 2023: retail trade (-3,600 jobs, or -1.7%); professional and business services (-3,600 jobs, or -1.3%); and manufacturing (-3,500 jobs, or -1.8%).

The other major sectors that lost at least 700 jobs during that period were construction (-2,700 jobs, or -2.3%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (-1,100 jobs, or -1.4%); and information (-700 jobs, or -1.9%).

The US unemployment rate of 4.1% remained virtually unchanged in June.