May 2018 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

Benton and Gilliam counties had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 3.0 percent in May 2018. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates in May included Wheeler (3.1%) and Hood River (3.2%).

Eastern and Southern Oregon had higher unemployment rates in May 2018, which were still close to their record low unemployment rates since 1990. Grant County registered the highest unemployment rate for the month at 6.9 percent and is close to its lowest unemployment rate on record of 6.4 percent in October 2017. 

Sixteen of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide unemployment rate of 4.1 percent. Nine counties had unemployment rates at or below the national rate of 3.8 percent. Gilliam and Wheeler counties saw their unemployment rates improve over the year by 1.1 percentage points, more than any other county.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between May 2017 and May 2018. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (+2.9%). Southern Oregon (+2.5%), the Willamette Valley (+1.9%), the Portland area (+1.5%), and the Oregon Coast (+1.2%) also added jobs. Eastern Oregon saw a negligible job growth rate of 0.2 percent. 

Read the full press release here.