Oregon jobless rate holds steady in April, but hiring slows, long-term jobless grows

For first time in pandemic, layoffs led by permanent job losses

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon’s unemployment rate remained at 6.0% in April, the same as in March. The rate declined slightly in January, February, and March before holding steady in April, the Oregon Employment Department reported Tuesday.

Throughout the middle and end of 2020, Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped sharply, and is now down considerably from its recent high point of 13.2% in April 2020. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April, from 6.0% in March.

“Although Oregon’s unemployment rate hit a stand-still in April, underlying labor force dynamics continue shifting. April marked the first month since the pandemic recession started that those experiencing permanent job losses were the largest group of laid off Oregonians. Long-term unemployment has also reached its highest point in nine years,” said Gail Krumenauer, state employment economist with the Oregon Employment Department.

In Oregon, hiring slowed, as nonfarm payroll employment grew by 2,200 in April, following monthly gains averaging 14,000 in the prior three months. Monthly gains were concentrated in government (+2,300 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (+2,000). Monthly declines were largest in manufacturing (-900 jobs), transportation, warehousing, and utilities (-800), and retail trade (-800).

In April, Oregon’s nonfarm payroll employment totaled 1,855,600, a drop of 117,400 jobs, or 6% from the pre-recession peak in February 2020. Oregon’s employment dropped to a low of 1,687,500 by April 2020. Since then, Oregon has recovered 168,100 jobs, or 59% of the jobs lost between February and April 2020.

Employment totals for recent months were revised upward, indicating somewhat higher jobs totals in Oregon in late 2020 and early this year. Total nonfarm employment was revised upward by approximately 13,000 jobs per month for December 2020 through March 2021. Upward revisions were most pronounced in leisure and hospitality (+6,000 jobs), health care and social assistance (+3,000), and retail trade (+1,900). These gains were partially offset by downward revisions that were most pronounced in professional and business services (-2,000 jobs).

Next Press Releases

The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the April county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, May 25, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for May on Tuesday, June 15.

The PDF version of the news release can be found at QualityInfo.org/press-release. To obtain the data in other formats such as in Excel, visit QualityInfo.org, then within the top banner, select Economic Data, then choose LAUS or CES. To request the press release as a Word document, contact the person shown at the top of this press release.

To file a claim for unemployment benefits or get more information about unemployment programs, visit unemployment.oregon.gov.