July 2017 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

Hood River and Washington counties had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in July at 3.3 percent. Grant County (6.0%) registered the highest rate for the month. This was the lowest unemployment rate for Grant County since comparable records began in 1990. Besides Grant County, another three counties were at or tied with their historic low unemployment rates ‒ Harney County (5.3%), Union County (4.6%), and Wheeler County (3.8%).

Nine of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 3.8 percent and 13 counties were at or below the national rate of 4.3 percent. Gilliam County saw its unemployment rate improve over the year by 2.3 percentage points, more than any other county. Other counties that saw a large improvement in their unemployment rates were Jefferson and Wallowa counties, where the unemployment rates improved by 1.8 percentage points over the year.

See the full labor force and unemployment by area press release in 36 counties and metropolitan areas in Oregon.