Oregon Employment Situation for January 2011

The January seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.4 percent in Oregon. While that's not a statistically significant drop from the 10.6 percent rate in December, the January 2011 jobless rate is the lowest seen in Oregon since January 2009 (9.9%), and significantly lower than the rate in January 2010 (11.0%).

Total nonfarm employment rose by 6,300 in January, following a revised gain of 4,000 jobs in December. Oregon's seasonally adjusted job gains totaled 19,500 since September 2010. The private sector (+17,200 jobs) has seen the bulk of these employment gains.
In January, sectors adding the most jobs included educational and health services (+3,900); leisure and hospitality (+1,700); and manufacturing (+1,000). The largest employment decline over the month occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities (-2,200).

Between January 2010 and January 2011, the industries with the largest employment gains included: educational and health services (+6,800); professional and business services (+5,100); and trade, transportation, and utilities (+3,800). Industries with the greatest over-the-year losses included financial activities (-1,800) and construction (-1,100).

For more details, read the full press release.

All numbers shown in this post are seasonally adjusted.