Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.2% as Employers Add 20,000 Jobs in July

Oregon's jobs recovery strengthened in July. Oregon added 20,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls, and the unemployment rate dropped significantly to 5.2%.

Leisure and hospitality added 7,100 jobs in July. That means one out of three jobs added over the month was at Oregon's restaurants, hotels, and entertainment places. In the first seven months of 2021, Oregon's leisure and hospitality sector added as many jobs as it did in five years (61 months) leading up to the pandemic. 

 

Government added 12,800 jobs in July. These were related to public education. School employment was already much lower than normal in July, and they had fewer layoffs than we'd generally expect this time of year. When we expect schools to let go of bus drivers and cafeteria workers for the summer, but there were already not as many working at schools recently, it can look like a big gain.

Oregon's unemployment rate improved from 5.6% in June to 5.2% in July. This was a significant drop that happened because many unemployed people found jobs over the month. Oregon's unemployment rate hit its all-time peak of 13.2% in April 2020. In the 15 months since then, the rate has fallen by 8.0 percentage points.

 

 

More information about Oregon's employment situation is available in the full news release, or in the video recap.