Eight Straight Months of Job Gains in Oregon

This morning the Oregon Employment Department released the employment estimates and unemployment rate for May. Oregon hit eight consecutive months of job gains; employers added 3,800 jobs to their payrolls. At 7.8 percent, the state's unemployment rate was essentially unchanged from the revised rate of 7.9 percent in April. May's unemployment rate was the lowest seen in Oregon since October 2008.

Among Oregon's major industries, construction (+1,600) added the most jobs in May. Trade, transportation, and utilities employment rose by 900 over the month. Manufacturing shed an estimated 800 jobs in May. Between May 2012 and May 2013, Oregon added 28,800 jobs.

While Oregon's unemployment rate sat at 7.8 percent in May, the highest measure of labor underutilization (U-6) was 16.0 percent. The U-6 measure includes: those who are unemployed and have actively sought work in the past four weeks; those who are unemployed, have not actively sought work in the past four weeks, but did look for work in the past year; and those who are employed, but working part-time when they would prefer full-time work. The vast majority of the difference between the 7.8 percent and 16.0 percent rates is due to those who are working part-time for economic reasons.

More information about employment and unemployment in Oregon can be found in the full news release. All figures in this post are seasonally adjusted preliminary estimates, which will be subject to revision as more complete information becomes available.