Twenty-Eight Counties Had Historic Low Unemployment Rates in May
Oregon Workforce and Economic Information
Twenty-eight counties were at or tied with their historic low unemployment rates. Benton County had Oregon’s lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May at 2.8 percent. Grant County (6.7%) registered the highest rate for the month. This was the lowest unemployment rate for Grant County since comparable records began in 1990.
Ten of Oregon’s counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 3.6 percent and 22 counties were at or below the national rate of 4.3 percent. Gilliam County saw its unemployment rate improve over the year by 2.9 percentage points, more than any other county.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose in all of Oregon’s six broad regions between May 2016 and May 2017. The largest job gains occurred in Central Oregon (+3.7%). Southern Oregon (+2.8%), the Willamette Valley (+1.8%), the Oregon Coast (+1.7%), Portland (+1.4%), and Eastern Oregon (+1.3%) also saw growth.
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