Oregon’s jobless rate rises to 4.1%, highest level since January

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon’s unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in October from 3.8% in September and was above the recent low of 3.5% reached in May, June and July, the Oregon Employment Department reported Wednesday.

October was the first month Oregon’s unemployment rate was above 4% since January, when the rate was 4.2%. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate rose from 3.5% in September to 3.7% in October.

In Oregon, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 5,200 jobs in October, following a loss of 500 jobs in September. The gains in October were largest in financial activities (+2,500 jobs), manufacturing (+1,100), health care and social assistance (+1,100), leisure and hospitality (+800), and construction (+700). These gains were partially offset by losses in retail trade (-700 jobs) and government (-600).

Oregon’s private sector added 5,800 jobs in October, reaching another all-time high of 1,682,300. This was 10,600 jobs, or 0.6%, above this sector’s pre-recession peak in February 2020.

Financial activities added 2,500 jobs in October, bouncing back from job declines totaling 1,600 between June and September. Job gains in October were strongest in real estate and rental and leasing, which added 1,900, as firms in the following industries added workers: rental centers and lessors of buildings and dwellings. 

Construction continued its rapid expansion of the past 12 months, when it added 8,800 jobs, or 7.9% growth. It employed 120,900 in October, another record high, which was well above construction’s pre-recession total of 112,300 in February 2020.

In contrast to the rapid growth of many of Oregon’s industries, retail trade trended downward this year. It employed 208,500 in October, which was a loss of 2,900 jobs during the first 10 months of the year. Since October 2021, general merchandise stores cut 2,300 jobs, which was the most of the retail component industries. Two other retail industries shedding jobs over the year included motor vehicle and parts dealers (-900 jobs) and building material and garden supply stores (-800).

Next Press Releases

The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the October county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for November on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
 

Notes: 

All numbers in the above narrative are seasonally adjusted, except for the industries within retail trade.

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 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 2021 tax records data. The department continues to make the original nonfarm payroll employment series available; these data are produced by the BLS.

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.