In August, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 6,900 jobs, following a revised gain of 100 jobs in July. August’s gains were largest in health care and social assistance (+2,500 jobs); leisure and hospitality (+1,500); government (+1,100); and other services (+1,000). Losses were largest in wholesale trade (-1,100 jobs).
Health care and social assistance continued its rapid expansion of the past several years, adding 11,600 jobs, or 3.8%, during the past 12 months. Nursing and residential care facilities added 400 jobs in August and 3,900 jobs, or 6.8%, since August 2024. Hospitals, which added no jobs in August, grew the second fastest of health care’s component industries in the past 12 months (+2,900 jobs, or 4.6%). Social assistance (+2,400 jobs, or 3.0%) and ambulatory health care services (+2,300 jobs, or 2.2%) had slower growth over the year.
Leisure and hospitality grew 2.0% in the past 12 months, gaining 4,100 jobs, following little change the prior two years. Since last August, most of its published component industries added between 2% and 4%. Amusement, gambling, and recreation grew the fastest, adding 1,500 jobs, or 6.7%. In contrast, full-service restaurants cut 1,200 jobs, or 1.8%.
Wholesale trade declined rapidly in the past 12 months (-4,300 jobs, or -5.5%). All three wholesale component industries shrank substantially in that time: merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods (-1,500 jobs, or -4.9%); merchant wholesalers, durable goods (-1,000 jobs, or -2.5%); and wholesale trade agents and brokers (-900 jobs, or -13.0%).
Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.0% in August and 4.9%, as revised, in July, after rising gradually over the past year from 4.2% in August 2024. Oregon’s 5.0% unemployment rate was 1.4 percentage points higher than the recent low of 3.6% during spring 2023. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% in July and 4.3% in August.
Next Press Releases
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the August county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, Sept. 23, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for September on Wednesday, Oct. 15.