August Unemployment and Employment in Oregon's Counties

Benton and Hood River counties tied for Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August at 6.1 percent. Crook and Harney counties (12.6%) registered the highest rate for the month. Fifteen of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 8.1 percent and seven were below the national rate of 7.3 percent. Crook County saw the largest improvement in its unemployment rate over the year with a drop of 1.5 percentage points while Harney County posted the largest rate increase of 0.2 percentage point.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in five of Oregon’s six broad regions from August 2012 to August 2013. The largest job gains were reported in the Portland metro region (+2.0%). Employment gains occurred over the year in Southern Oregon (+1.8%), Central Oregon (+1.6%), in the Willamette Valley (+0.6%), and along the Oregon Coast (+0.6%).

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