Twenty-Three Counties Had Low Historic Unemployment Rates in April

Twenty-three counties were at or tied with their historic low unemployment rates. Benton County had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April at 2.8 percent. Grant County (6.9%) registered the highest rate for the month. This was the lowest unemployment rate for Grant County since comparable records began in 1990.

Ten of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 3.7 percent and 22 counties were at or below the national rate of 4.4 percent. Gilliam County saw its unemployment rate improve over the year by 3.1 percentage points, more than any other county.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between April 2016 and April 2017. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (+3.6%). Southern Oregon (+2.1%), the Willamette Valley (+2.0%), the Oregon Coast (+1.4%), Portland (+1.3%), and Eastern Oregon (+0.9%) also saw growth.

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