Central Oregon’s job market still recovering from COVID-19 losses
But pace of recovery has 'moderated dramatically' since June
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon's jobless rates saw another dramatic improvement in August, with more laid-off workers returning to work, but the COVID-19 impacts are still evident, the state's regional economist said Tuesday.
"Despite the improvement, total non-farm employment remains down by roughly 10 percent from before the onset of the COVID-19 impacts.," said Damon Runberg, regional economist with the Oregon Employment Department.
Here's his full August employment report for the region:
The employment recovery continued in August across Central Oregon; however, the pace of the recovery moderated dramatically since moving into Phase 2 of COVID-19 reopening in June.
Crook County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in August, down from 11.4 percent in July. The unemployment rate is much improved since May, but still higher than before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; it was 4.8 percent in March.
Total nonfarm employment rose by 40 jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, continuing the recovery from the initial COVID-19 shock in April.
Crook County has recovered 180 of the 800 jobs lost during the COVID-19 crisis. As of August seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment levels remain down by around 9.4 percent, compared with March.
The hardest-hit industry remains leisure and hospitality with employment down 230 jobs from this time last year. Construction and information were the only major industry sectors to add jobs over the past year.
Deschutes County (Bend-Redmond MSA): The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent in August, down from 10.9 percent in July. Despite the dramatic improvement over the past several months the rate remains significantly higher than before the COVID-19 crisis; it was 3.3 percent in March.
Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment posted strong gains in August after stalling in July. Deschutes County added 580 jobs (+0.7%) in August after a revised gain of only 30 jobs in July.
Total nonfarm employment remains down roughly 10 percent from the peak before the COVID-19 crisis in February (-9,020 jobs).
Although the labor market remains far from recovered, Deschutes County has regained roughly 40 percent of the 14,860 jobs lost during the onset of the pandemic.
Recent revisions backed off some of the recovery initially reported in leisure and hospitality, which now shows a 3,630 job loss (-24%) since August 2019. Other hard-hit industries include retail trade, education and health services, and manufacturing. Mining, logging, and construction was the only major industry sector to add jobs over the past year (+140 jobs).
Jefferson County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in August, down from 11.1 percent in July. The rate remains up significantly from before the COVID-19 crisis; it was 4.2 percent in March 2020.
Jefferson County’s recovery gained some momentum in August, as the county added 130 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a gain of only 20 jobs in July.
Jefferson County has only added back around 25 percent of the total nonfarm jobs lost during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. There remain 940 fewer seasonally adjusted jobs in August, compared with February.
Leisure and hospitality remains the hardest-hit industry with employment down by 250 jobs compared with this time last year. Other hard-hit sectors include Indian tribal government (-180 jobs) and manufacturing (-150 jobs). No major industry sector added jobs over the past year.
Next Press Releases
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the September county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, October 20th and the statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for September on Tuesday, October 13th.
