Deschutes County economy ‘growing at blistering pace’
Recent revisions in state employment data has revealed that “Deschutes County’s economy is growing at a blistering pace,” Regional Economist Damon Runberg said Tuesday in releasing January jobless rates.
Over the past year, he said, the local economy added 4,150 jobs, an impressive growth rate of nearly 6 percent, Runberg said.
Fast job growth drove the unemployment rate down to 5.1 percent, now in-line with the statewide rate. Employment growth was more modest in Jefferson County (+2%), while Crook County’s employment situation remains unchanged from last year.
Crook County: The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent in January, a statistically significant drop from the December rate of 8 percent. The rate is down from last year when it was 9.5 percent.
Crook County began the year with seasonally adjusted job growth. Employment levels were down 70 from December. However, those losses were significantly fewer than the expected decline of 110 jobs.
Employment levels are unchanged from this time last year. Recent jobs losses in wood product manufacturing were overcome by gains in the trades, transportation, information, and health services.
Deschutes County (Bend-Redmond MSA): The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in January and is once again in-line with the statewide rate. The rate is down from December, when it was 5.6 percent, and 6.4 percent last January.
Deschutes County shed 920 jobs in January, which was less than the expected seasonal decline of 1,500 jobs.
January and February are typically the lowest employment months of the year. Seasonal hiring will begin to ramp up as we move into spring, Runberg said.
Retail trade accounted for the lion’s share of the losses (-650) as the holiday shopping season came to an end. Accommodation and food services also constricted (-110 jobs) as we passed peak winter tourism season. Manufacturing made a strong surge in January, adding 110 jobs.
The Bend-Redmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (Deschutes County) economy is showing no signs of slowing as employment levels were up by 4,150 from last January (+5.9%).
More typical winter conditions certainly helped the retail and leisure and hospitality industries, Runberg said. However, employment growth was spread across every published private-sector industry.
Recent revisions revealed that the manufacturing sector posted strong gains over the past year (+390 jobs). Impressive gains were also seen in construction, health care, and the professional sector.
Jefferson County: Seasonally adjusted unemployment levels dropped to 6.9 percent from 7.3 percent in December. The unemployment rate remains down significantly from last January (8.4%).
Jefferson County lost 90 jobs in January, a fairly typical decline for this time of year.
The county continues to see modest over-the-year job growth, up 120 jobs (+2%) from last January. Half of the countywide job growth over the last year was in wood product manufacturing. The retail and construction sectors also posted strong job growth over the past year, adding 40 and 30 jobs respectively. Losses were relatively minor and concentrated in wholesale trade (-20).
Next Press Releases
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the February county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, March 22nd and the statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data on Tuesday, March 15th.
