October 25, 2022 11:00 a.m. 

Douglas County payroll employers increased a seasonally adjusted 110 jobs in September after gains of 100 in August and 280 jobs in July.

A release from the State of Oregon Employment Department said the county has now gained back 81 percent of the jobs lost in March and April 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

Regional Economist Brian Rooney said in the not seasonally adjusted private-sector industries in September, there was a relatively large gain in private education and health services with 40 jobs added. Rooney said there were seasonal losses in leisure and hospitality of 120 positions, while the mining and logging and construction categories each lost 20 jobs. There was an additional loss of 40 jobs in manufacturing.

Rooney said government gained 380 jobs from a seasonal gain of 440 in local government education that was countered by losses of 40 in noneducation local government and 10 each in federal and state government.

The release said when comparing September 2022 with September 2029, total nonfarm employment increased by 580 jobs or 1.5 percent. Large over-the-year gains were seen in education and health services with 270 jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 140, wholesale trade gained 90 and transportation, warehousing and utilities went up by 70. There were relatively large losses of 90 in manufacturing, federal government of 70 and construction of 50.

Douglas County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 4.7 percent in September compared with a revised 4.5 percent in August. The county’s record low unemployment rate was set in October 2019 at 4.4 percent. The rate is down from 5.3 percent in September 2021.

Oregon’s seasonally adjusted rate was 3.8 percent while the U.S. rate was 3.5 percent.