Employment and Unemployment in Oregon's Counties

Benton County continued to have Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (6.1%) in March. Crook County (13.3%) registered the highest rate for the month. Fifteen of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 8.2 percent. Five of Oregon's counties had unemployment rates below 7.0 percent. Sherman County saw the largest improvement in its unemployment rate over the year, with a drop of 1.6 percentage points to 6.9 percent in March.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in five of Oregon’s six broad regions between March 2012 and March 2013. The largest job gains were reported in Central Oregon (+1.9%). Smaller employment gains occurred over the year in Portland (+1.2%), along the Oregon Coast (+1.1%), Southern Oregon (+0.8%), and the Willamette Valley (+0.6%).

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