December 2020 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

In December 2020, 27 out of 36 of Oregon’s counties experienced over-the-month increases in their unemployment rates. Oregon’s unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point between November and December, and eight of Oregon’s counties followed the state with a loss of 0.4 percentage point or more. 

Deschutes County saw the largest over-the-month increase, jumping from 6.7% in November to 7.6% in December. Lincoln County had Oregon’s highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December at 7.7%. Other counties with some of the highest unemployment rates included Crook (7.6%), Deschutes (7.6%), and Grant (7.5%). 

Wheeler County registered the lowest unemployment rate for the month at 4.2%. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates in December were Benton (4.3%) and Sherman (4.4%). Twenty-six counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 6.4%. Twenty-seven counties also had unemployment rates at or below the nationwide rate of 6.7%.

Total nonfarm payroll employment declined in all six of Oregon’s broad regions between December 2019 and December 2020. The largest job losses occurred in the Portland-5 (-10.8%). The Coast (- 8.8%), Willamette Valley (-8.5%), and Central Oregon (-7.0%) also experienced large over-the-year employment losses. Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon came in at -5.2% and -3.2%, respectively.

Next News Releases

The Oregon Employment Department will release statewide unemployment rate and industry employment data for January 2021 on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The January 2021 county and metropolitan area unemployment rates will be released on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. 

Read the original press release here.