Oregon jobless rate hits new record low of 4 percent

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped a bit to 4 percent in June, the state’s lowest jobless rate since comparable records began in 1976, the state Employment Department reported Tuesday.

Oregon’s May unemployment rate was 4.1 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was also 4.0 percent in June.

In June, Oregon’s nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1,900 jobs, following a revised gain of 3,200 jobs in May. Job gains were led by leisure and hospitality (+1,800 jobs) and private educational services (+1,000). Three major industries each added close to 600 jobs: health care and social assistance (+700); manufacturing (+600); and construction (+500).

Several industries shed jobs in June, including retail trade (-1,000 jobs); information (-800); financial activities (-600); and transportation, warehousing and utilities (-500).

Although Oregon’s payroll employment continued to expand, the rate of growth has moderated in recent months. Job gains averaged 1,500 per month over the past three months. Over the past 12 months, 31,400 jobs were added, good for a growth rate of 1.6 percent. This growth matched that of the U.S,. where over-the-year job growth was also 1.6 percent through June.

Oregon’s job gains were much faster in 2013 through 2017, averaging 2.8 percent per year and reaching a peak growth rate of 3.7 percent in mid-2015.

Part of the reason for the slowdown in the rate of job growth, officials said, is likely due to an unusually tight labor market. Many employers are facing increasing difficulty hiring workers. The degree of Oregon’s labor market tightness is reflected in these indicators:

— The number of people working part-time for economic reasons is at the lowest since at least 2002, when comparable records began.
— The broadest measure of labor underutilization, U-6, dropped to 7.8 percent in June, which was its lowest reading since at least 2002.
— The number of Oregonians unemployed for 27 weeks or more dropped below 7,000, the lowest level since at least 2002, and far below the more than 100,000 long-term unemployed in 2010 during the aftermath of the recession.
— The number of people entering the labor market without a job was at its lowest level since at least 2000, when comparable records began.

Next Press Releases
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the June county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, July 24th, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for July on Tuesday, August 14th. 

Notes:
All numbers in the above narrative are seasonally adjusted.

The Oregon Employment Department and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) work cooperatively to develop and publish monthly Oregon payroll employment and labor force data. The estimates of monthly job gains and losses are based on a survey of businesses. The estimates of unemployment are based on a survey of households and other sources.

The Oregon Employment Department publishes payroll employment estimates that are revised quarterly by using employment counts from employer unemployment insurance tax records. All department publications use this Official Oregon Series data unless noted otherwise. This month’s release incorporates the October, November and December 2017 tax records data. The department continues to make the original nonfarm payroll employment series available; these data are produced by the BLS.

*Effective with the January 2018 data, employment of Oregon’s approximately 17,000 home care workers are counted in private health care and social assistance instead of state government. The change was due to legislative action clarifying that for purposes of workforce and labor market information, home care workers are not employees of state government. The reclassification affects private sector and government monthly change figures for January 2018 and will affect over-the-year change figures through December 2018. It does not affect total payroll employment levels.