Oregon's Regional Employment Growth in February

Today the Oregon Employment Department released the February unemployment rates and employment estimates for the state's counties and metropolitan areas.

Benton County had the lowest seasonally adjusted jobless rate (5.9%) in February, while Crook County posted the highest rate (14.0%). Although it had the highest rate, Crook County did experience the largest improvement in its unemployment rate (-2.5 percentage points) between February 2011 and February 2012.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose over the year in four of Oregon's six broad regions. The five Portland metro counties combined for a 1.7 percent growth rate over the year. Employment grew by 1.5 percent along the Oregon Coast, and the combined Central Oregon counties (1.2%) and Eastern Oregon (0.3%) also saw job gains. Southern Oregon (-0.6%) and the Willamette Valley (-1.2%) had employment declines over the year.
Want more employment information for your region or county? Visit the employment or unemployment statistics pages at QualityInfo, or visit the home page and select an area on the Regional Information map.