September 2017 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

Benton County had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.6 percent in September 2017. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates include Washington (3.7%), Hood River (3.8%), and Multnomah (3.8%).

Grant County (6.4%) registered the highest rate for the month. Crook (6.3%), Curry (6.2%), and Josephine (6.1%) counties also had some of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

Seven of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates below the statewide and national rate of 4.2 percent. Gilliam County saw its unemployment rate improve over the year by 1.7 percentage points, more than any other county. Other counties that saw a large improvement in their unemployment rates were Wallowa and Baker, where the unemployment rates improved by 1.2 and 1.1 percentage points, respectively, over the year.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between September 2016 and September 2017. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (+3.0%). Portland (+1.9%), the Willamette Valley (+1.7%), Eastern Oregon (+1.4%), the Oregon Coast (+1.2%), and Southern Oregon (+0.8%) also saw growth.

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