July 20, 2023 3:50 a.m.
Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent in June, down from 3.7 percent in May.
An update from the Oregon Employment Department said this was the fifth consecutive monthly drop in the unemployment rate, down from a recent high of 4.8 percent in January. The June rate was near Oregon’s record low of 3.4 percent, which was reached in November and December of 2019. The U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in June 2023, which was very close to Oregon’s June rate.
State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer said in June, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 5,700 jobs, following a revised gain of 4,200 jobs in May. June’s job gain was the largest monthly increase since January, when 9,600 jobs were added.
OED said over-the-month job gains were largest in government which added 2,400 jobs. The “other services” category gained 1,800 jobs while leisure and hospitality added 1,600 and professional and business services gained 1,500 jobs. Declines were largest in wholesale trade which lost 1,300 jobs. Transportation, warehousing and utilities, and the manufacturing category both shed 1,000 jobs.
Krumenauer said payroll employment grew by 2.3 percent over the past twelve months. Over-the-year- job growth decelerated to about 2 percent in the past five months, from twelve-month growth rates that were above 3 percent during the economic recovery period, which included much of the past two years.
The update said since June 2022, several industries have continued to expand rapidly while others have been relatively flat or declining. Construction, which added 6,500 jobs, or 5.7 percent, grew at one of the fastest rates of the major industries. In addition, three major industries each expanded by close to 4 percent, while adding close to 10,000 jobs each. They are leisure and hospitality, health care and social assistance and government. However, a few industries cut jobs by about 2,000 each in the past twelve months. That included manufacturing which fell by about 1.1 percent, wholesale trade which lost 1.9 percent of its jobs, and the transportation, warehousing and utilities category which fell by 3 percent.