Mixed C. Oregon job growth in 2015: Urban up, rural down

Central Oregon wrapped up 2015 with a mixed employment picture, doing much better in more urban Deschutes County than its two more rural neighbors, the state Employment Department reported Tuesday in releasing December jobless rates.

The region netted over 2,700 new jobs through the course of the year, said Regional Economist Damon Runberg.

“The vast majority of these gains were in Deschutes County, which recovered from the recession early in 2015 and continued to expand through the end of the year,” Runberg wrote in his monthly report.

“Although Jefferson County added jobs in 2015, growth was marginal, only up around 1.1 percent from the beginning of the year. Crook County struggled to gain any momentum with employment levels down over the course of the year,” he said.

Still, he said, Central Oregon finished 2015 on a high note, with employment levels up on a seasonally adjusted basis and unemployment down.

“Looking back on the year we see a split between rural and urban parts of Central Oregon,” Runberg said. “Deschutes County experienced very fast job growth as the economy continued to expand. The employment situation was more subdued in rural Central Oregon, with Jefferson County seeing slow job growth and Crook County posting job losses in 2015.”

Crook County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8 percent in December, a statistically significant drop from the November rate of 8.3 percent. The rate remains down from last year, when it was 9.4 percent.

The county shed 180 jobs in December, which was a fairly typical decline for this time of year. Job losses were concentrated in seasonal industries, such as tourism, construction, and federal government.

The county ended the year with fewer jobs than where it started. Employment losses were concentrated in the well-publicized wood product manufacturing layoff.

We also saw significant losses in professional and business services and government, each shedding 40 jobs. The only substantive job gains over the last year were in financial activities (+20) and educational and health services (+50).

Deschutes County (Bend-Redmond MSA): The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped slightly to 5.6 percent in December, down from 5.8 percent in November. The rate was 7.2 percent last December.

Deschutes County shed 380 jobs in December, which was less than the expected seasonal decline of 440 jobs. Not surprisingly, a large share of the job losses were concentrated in construction and accommodation and food services, both industries that typically experience seasonal declines in the winter. However, we saw strong hiring from the recreation side of the tourism industry as ski season kicked into full gear.

The Bend-Redmond MSA (Deschutes County) remained the hottest job market of Oregon’s metropolitan areas over the past year, with employment levels up 4.8 percent (+3,410 jobs).

Contrary to popular belief, job growth is not exclusively in lower-paying industries, such as leisure and hospitality or retail trade, Runberg said.

Over the past year, there was strong hiring in transportation, warehousing, and utilities (+290); professional and business services (+350); mining, logging, and construction (+450); and educational and health services (+680).

“We are experiencing a robust and diverse economic expansion, particularly when compared to the previous expansion of the mid-2000s,” Runberg wrote.

Jefferson County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent from 7.6 percent in November. The unemployment rate remains down significantly from last December (8.3%).

Jefferson County lost 10 jobs in December, a much smaller decline than the loss of 130 jobs that is more typical for this time of year.

Total nonfarm employment is up by 110 jobs from last December (+1.8%). Job growth was concentrated in the private sector, highlighted by strong hiring in construction (+40), wood product manufacturing (+30), and retail trade (+30). Job losses over the past year were primarily concentrated in local government.

Next Press Releases

The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the January county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, March 8 th and the statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data on Tuesday, March 1 st .