Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 4.2 Percent in November, as Job Growth Slowed

Oregon’s unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.2 percent in November from 4.3 percent in October, remaining near the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1 percent in November.

“Oregon’s low unemployment rate and other positive labor force measures indicate there’s a shrinking pool of available job seekers,” said Nick Beleiciks, Oregon’s state employment economist. “Businesses are having difficulty finding applicants, and that has slowed Oregon’s job growth in the second half of this year.”

In November, Oregon’s nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 1,800 jobs, following a revised gain of 7,900 jobs in October. Monthly losses were concentrated in professional and business services, which cut 2,000 jobs, and in manufacturing, which cut 1,700. Counterbalancing these job losses were gains of 1,300 in other services and 1,200 in leisure and hospitality.

The job losses in November, coupled with the downward revision to October, slowed the pace of Oregon’s over-the-year growth rate. Since November 2016, Oregon has added 30,600 nonfarm payroll jobs, which equals an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent. Oregon is now gaining jobs at a slightly faster pace than the national growth rate of 1.4 percent over the past 12 months. This is a change after a long stretch of growth that far outpaced the national growth rate.

Read the Oregon Employment Department's full press release.