Oregon Labor Force Participation Varies by County

Oregon’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population that is either employed or unemployed – peaked in 1998 at 69.0 percent and has since generally declined. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) fell to 60.9 percent in 2013, the lowest annual percentage since comparable records began in 1976. Oregon’s LFPR remained very close to the 2013 series low in both 2014 and 2015, before climbing to 62.6 percent in 2016.

Labor force participation rates for Oregon’s counties in 2016 ranged from a high in Hood River County of 77.2 percent to a low in Curry County of 45.8 percent.

Counties located in the Northern part of Oregon, and especially in the Columbia River Gorge, generally had higher LFPRs in 2016. Counties located along the coast, and in the Southern and Eastern parts of Oregon generally had lower LFPRs.

Read the full article written by Local Area Unemployment Statistics Coordinator Tracy Morrissette.