February Unemployment Rate Decreases in All but One of Oregon’s Counties

Benton County had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in February at 4.7 percent. Grant County, the only county not to see a drop in February, registered the highest rate for the month at 10.1 percent. Twelve of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 5.8 percent and seven were at or below February’s national rate of 5.5 percent. Harney County saw the largest improvement in its unemployment rate over the year with a drop of 3.0 percentage points.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between February 2014 and February 2015. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (4.5%) and Southern Oregon (+3.6%). The Willamette Valley (+3.0%), Portland (+2.6%), the Oregon Coast (1.8%), and Eastern Oregon (1.5%) also saw growth.