Oregon sees job growth, continued employment challenges

Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 8,500 jobs in July, following a revised decline of 700 jobs in June, according to the Oregon Employment Department.

Gains, losses

July’s gains were largest in professional and business services (+2,300 jobs); health care and social assistance (+2,000); government (+1,800); and construction (+1,400).

Declines in July were largest in leisure and hospitality (-700 jobs) and retail trade (-500).

Professional and business services added 2,300 jobs in July, following a drop of 1,700 in June. The July gain was led by the addition of 2,000 jobs in the component industry administrative and waste services.

Despite the one-month increase, professional and business services cut 2,900 jobs, or -1.1%, in the past 12 months, with each of its three component industries also declining by close to 1% since July 2023.

Health care and social assistance expanded rapidly, adding 2,000 jobs in July and 16,300 jobs over the past 12 months. Social assistance grew by 7,500 jobs, or 10.3%, in 12 months.

Meanwhile, the health-care component industries each added more than 2,000 jobs since July 2023: nursing and residential care facilities (+3,500 jobs, or 6.6%); ambulatory health care services (+3,700 jobs, or 3.7%); and hospitals (+2,300 jobs, or 3.9%).

Despite gains in health care and a few other industries, several industries cut jobs over the past year.

Four major industries declined by at least 1,000 jobs since July 2023: retail trade (-6,600 jobs, or -3.2%); financial activities (-1,300 jobs, or -1.3%); professional and business services (-2,900 jobs, or -1.1%); and manufacturing (-1,900 jobs, or -1.0%).

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.1% in both June and July and has been in a tight range between 4.0% and 4.2% since October 2023. The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July.