Eighteen Counties Had Low Historic Unemployment Rates in March

Benton County had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March at 2.9 percent. Grant County (7.1%) registered the highest rate for the month. This was the lowest unemployment rate for Grant County since comparable records began in 1990. Eighteen counties were at or tied with their historic low unemployment rates.

Nine of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 3.8 percent and 22 counties were at or below the national rate of 4.5 percent. Gilliam County saw its unemployment rate improve over the year by 2.9 percentage points, more than any other county.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between March 2016 and March 2017. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (+3.1%) and Southern Oregon (+2.9%). The Willamette Valley (+1.8%), Portland (+1.4%), and Eastern Oregon (+0.7%) also saw growth. The Oregon Coast saw a negligible growth rate of 0.1 percent over the year.

See the full labor force and unemployment by area press release in 36 counties and metropolitan areas in Oregon.