Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Lowest Since July 2008

Oregon’s unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent in January from December 2014’s 6.7 percent. According to State Employment Economist Nick Beleiciks, “It’s been a really long time since unemployment was this low in Oregon. We have to go back to July 2008 for the last time Oregon’s unemployment rate was this low.”

The drop in the unemployment rate came from a decline in the number of unemployed individuals in Oregon. There were 124,000 unemployed in January, down more than 7,000 from December 2014, and more than 14,000 from one year ago.

Nonfarm employment rose by 7,600 in January 2015, the fourth time in five months Oregon has added more than 6,000 jobs. “Employers are adding a lot of jobs right now. In fact, employment is at record levels when you adjust for the time of year,” says Beleiciks.

A few more highlights from the Oregon Employment Department’s January 2015 press release:

• Employment rose by 55,600 over the year, an increase of 3.3 percent.
• Retail trade (+8,000 jobs or 4.1%); manufacturing (+7,000 jobs or 4.0%); transportation, warehousing, and utilities (2,600 jobs or 4.6%); and professional and business services (+13,100 jobs or 6.1%) all made significant gains over the year.

For more on Oregon's employment situation, view the latest Oregon Employment Department Press Release.