October (Un)Employment in Oregon's Counties

This morning the Employment Department released the October employment numbers and unemployment rates for Oregon's counties and metropolitan areas.

Benton County saw the lowest seasonally adjusted jobless rate of Oregon's counties (6.5%), while Crook County had the highest rate (15.8%). Between October 2010 and October 2011, unemployment rates declined in all but three counties: Gilliam, Baker, and Sherman. Unemployment declined by 1 percentage point or more in 15 counties. The largest declines occurred in Crook and Deschutes counties (-2.1 percentage points each).

Total nonfarm payroll employment (not seasonally adjusted) rose between October 2010 and October 2011 for four of the state’s six broad regions. Southern Oregon saw the largest employment gain over the year (+1.5%), followed by the combined Portland metro counties in Oregon (+0.9%). The combined Central Oregon and Eastern Oregon counties (+0.2% each) saw smaller increases over the year. Employment declines occurred in the Willamette Valley (-0.4%) and the coast region (-0.8%).

For additional Graphs and information, check out the current employment statistics and local area unemployment statistics pages at QualityInfo.org!