REPRESENTING BUSINESS ISSUES
Unemployment Rate Ticks Up, but Oregon Adds 8,100 Jobs Written by Peter Wong | Oct 18, 2023 | Press Release
The sectors with the greatest job gains in September were
construction, 3,200 jobs; business and professional services, 2,200, and leisure and hospitality, 900. All other sectors were flat; none had reductions of more than 200 jobs. Construction employment surged to another record high in September. At 119,900 jobs in September, construction is up 2,300 jobs, or 2%, since September 2022. Most of the gains in the past 12 months were in specialty trade contractors, which added 4,000 jobs. Construction of buildings had the same employment level as the prior year. Professional and business
Employment Department reports that Oregon economy added 8,100 jobs in September, but unemployment rate ticked up a notch to 3.5%, still among the lowest ever.
O regon’s unemployment rate went up a notch in September, but the 3.5% mark was the fourth month in a row that the rate remained at near- historic lows. The Employment Department reported that Oregon’s economy gained 8,100 nonfarm jobs during the month, and revised the August number downward to a decline of 700 jobs. The August rate was 3.4%. Department economist Gail Krumenauer said the rate has been between 3.4% and 3.5% for four consecutive months. The rate was at a then-record low of 3.4% for the final months of 2019, just before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020. The U.S. rate for August and September was at 3.8%. State records go back to 1976; data for earlier years is not comparable with current standards.
services grew at a moderate pace over the past year, adding 3,900 jobs, or 1.5%. This gain was led by management of companies and enterprises, which added 2,400 jobs, or 4.8%. Professional and technical services grew moderately, adding 1,600 jobs, or 1.4%. But the third component industry, administrative and waste services, was nearly flat over that period, cutting 100 jobs, or .1%. And within that industry, employment services was particularly weak, shedding 2,000 jobs, or 4.5%, over the past 12 months. Leisure and hospitality — lodging, restaurants, bars and taverns, entertainment — expanded at a consistent and rapid pace over the past 24 months. During that time, it was up 23,900 jobs, or 12.8%. Despite these rapid gains, at 210,800 jobs in September, it is still 5,700 jobs below its pre-recession peak reached in February 2020. n
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The Business Review | October 2023
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