June 2020, 2024 10:40 a.m.  

In May, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 4,000 jobs, following a revised gain of 2,400 jobs in April.

A release from the Oregon Employment Department said health care and social assistance gained 1,900 jobs in May, while leisure and hospitality added 1,000. Monthly declines were largest in retail trade and construction which shed 800 and 400 jobs respectively.

State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer said private sector growth has been very slow over the year, gaining 3,500 jobs or 0.2 percent. Krumenauer said health care and social assistance was the primary source of growth with a solid gain of 16,200 jobs, or 5.7 percent. All four component industries have been adding jobs at a rapid clip. Elsewhere in the private sector, manufacturing dropped 3,700 jobs over the year, retail trade lost 3,400 and construction dropped 2,200 jobs in the past year.

OED said the public sector added 9,100 jobs over the past 12 months. Local, state, and federal government are all at least 2 percent above their job counts a year ago. Local education gained 3,400 jobs over the year to reach 142,600 in May. This is the first spring that local schools reached the employment level of spring 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Krumenauer said Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in May for the fourth straight month. Looking back at the past few years, Oregon’s monthly employment rate has been 4.2 percent or lower every month since October 2021. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in May.