Oregon unemployment rate steady at 4.2%

Published 4:03 pm Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Oregon’s statewide unemployment rate remained at 4.2% despite job gains of 1,400 in March and a revised 2,800 in February.

According to the latest report from the Oregon Employment Department, which issued it on April 17, the sectors that gained the most in the first quarter of this year were the same two that have gained consistently in recent months.

Health care and social assistance added 3,300 jobs during the first quarter and it has had strong growth during the past two years. Government added 1,500 jobs and has continued its three-year recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Administrative and waste services added 2,700 jobs during those three months, which was an abrupt shift following this industry’s loss of 4,600 jobs during 2023.

The sectors with the largest gains in March: Professional and business services, 2,400; government, 1,000, and wholesale trade, 600. Monthly declines were largest in construction, 2,300; retail trade, 600, and manufacturing, 600.

The industry that dropped the most during the first three months of the year was construction, which dropped by 3,300 jobs, following a relatively flat year in 2023 when it gained only 900 jobs. Meanwhile, accommodation and food services dropped 1,900 jobs so far this year, which nearly erased its gain of 2,000 jobs last year.

Department economist Gail Krumenauer said the increase in overall unemployment to 4.2% in March 2024 from a record-tying low of 3.4% in May 2023 is a sign of a loosening labor market. Another indicator of a loosening labor market was the rise in the number of Oregonians employed part time for economic reasons, which rose to 73,000 in March from a low of 48,200 in September 2022.

pwong@pamplinmedia.com