January 2021 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

In January 2021, 16 out of 36 of Oregon’s counties experienced over-the-month increases in their unemployment rates. Oregon’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point between December and January, and 14 of Oregon’s counties followed the state with a decline of 0.1 percentage point or more. Deschutes and Grant counties saw the largest over-the-month decrease, declining 0.6 percentage point in January.

Lincoln and Clatsop counties had Oregon’s highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in January at 8.1% each. Other counties with some of the highest unemployment rates included Crook (7.8%), Curry (7.3%), and Multnomah (7.2%).

Wheeler County registered the lowest unemployment rate for the month at 4.2%. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates in January were Malheur (4.3%) and Sherman (4.3%). Twenty-two counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 6.2%. The same number of counties also had unemployment rates at or below the nationwide rate of 6.3%.

Total nonfarm payroll employment declined in all six of Oregon’s broad regions between January 2020 and January 2021. The largest job losses occurred in the Portland-5 (-9.3%). The Willamette Valley (- 7.5%), the Coast (-7.4%), and Central Oregon (-6.0%) also experienced large over-the-year employment losses. Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon came in at -3.2% and -2.2%, respectively.

Next News Releases 

The Oregon Employment Department will release statewide unemployment rate and industry employment data for February 2021 on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. The February 2021 county and metropolitan area unemployment rates will be released on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

Read the original press release here.