November (Un)Employment in Oregon's Counties

On Monday the Oregon Employment Department released the November unemployment rates and employment estimates for Oregon's counties and metropolitan areas.

Benton County continued to have Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (6.1%) in November. Grant County (13.5%) registered the highest rate for the month. Fifteen of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 8.4 percent; eight of those counties also matched or fell below the national rate of 7.7 percent in November. 

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in four of Oregon's six broad regions between November 2011 and November 2012. The largest job gains were reported in Southern Oregon (+1.4%), Portland (+1.2%), and the Willamette Valley (+0.8%). Central Oregon (+0.1%) saw a slight gain over the year. Employment remained essentially flat in Eastern Oregon. The Oregon Coast posted the only year-to-year employment loss, with a small decline of 0.1 percent.

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