August 23, 2023 3:45 a.m.

Douglas County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent in July compared with a revised 4.8 percent in June.

A release from the State of Oregon Employment Department said the rate is down from 5.2 percent in July 2022. Douglas County’s record low unemployment rate was set in November 2019 at 4.3 percent. The Oregon seasonally adjusted July rate was 3.4 percent while the U.S. rate was 3.5 percent.

Regional Economist Brian Rooney said Douglas County payroll employment increased a seasonally adjusted twenty jobs in July after increases of twenty in June and one hundred thirty in May. Douglas County has gained back eighty one percent of the jobs lost in March and April 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

OED said in the not seasonally adjusted private-sector industries in July, there were seasonal gains of ninety in leisure and hospitality and forty in construction. There was an additional gain of ninety in professional and business services. There was a loss of thirty in the transportation, warehousing and utilities category.

Government lost six hundred thirty jobs in local education due to the summer break.

Rooney said when comparing July 2023 with July 2022, total nonfarm employment decreased one hundred eighty jobs or .05 percent. Private-sector over-the-year gains of two hundred thirty were seen in leisure and hospitality, and of one hundred fifty in both the private education and health services and the other services categories. There were relatively large losses of two hundred eighty in business and professional services, of one hundred ninety in manufacturing and of one hundred sixty in retail trade.

Government gained one hundred ten jobs over the year from gains of one hundred sixty in local government that were countered by losses of thirty in state government and of twenty in federal government.