March 21, 2024 3:35 a.m.

In February, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4,400 jobs, following a revised loss of 5,700 jobs in January.

A release from the Oregon Employment Department said February’s gains were largest in professional and business services where 1,000 jobs were added. Healthcare and social assistance gained 900 jobs.

State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer said five other major industries each expanded by between 600 and 700 jobs. Manufacturing, where 600 jobs were lost, was the only major industry with a substantial number of job cuts in February.

OED said health care and social assistance continued its robust expansion, employing 292,300 jobs last month. That was a gain of 25,900 in the past 24 months. Nursing and residential care facilities and social assistance both grew by 8 percent in the past 12 months.

Krumenauer said over the most recent 12 months, jobs edged lower. Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 1,900 jobs, or 0.1 percent between February 2023 and February 2024. The private sector cut 11,300 jobs or 0.7 percent over the most recent 12-month period. Job losses in four major industries stood out, each down by between 3,400 jobs and 9,300 jobs. Those industries are information, professional and business services, manufacturing and retail trade. Four other major industries had smaller losses, between 500 and 1,900 jobs. In contrast, health care and social assistance was up 13,800 jobs or 5.0 percent, while government was up 9,400 jobs, or 3.1 percent in the 12 months through February.

The release said while Oregon’s job growth has been close to flat in the 12 months ending in February, with a decline of 0.1 percent, U.S. jobs grew by 1.8 percent with gains in every month of that period.

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in February and 4.1 percent in January. It has remained in a historically low range between 3.4 and 4.2 percent for more than two years, back to October 2021. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in February and 3.7 percent in January.