BY Oregon Employment Department,
January 2022 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties
In January 2022, 25 of Oregon’s 36 counties experienced over-the-month decreases in their unemployment rates. Five counties experienced a 0.2 percentage point decrease or more over the month including Clatsop, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, and Jefferson counties.
Grant County had Oregon’s highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January at 5.7%. Other counties with some of the highest unemployment rates included Klamath (5.6%), Crook (5.5%), Curry (5.5%), and Lincoln (5.4%).
Wheeler County registered the lowest unemployment rate for the month at 3.0%. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates in January were Benton (3.1%), Washington (3.4%), and Hood River (3.5%). Seventeen counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 4.3%. Twelve counties also had unemployment rates at or below the nationwide rate of 4.0%.
Map of seasonally adjusted unemployment rate by county in Oregon for January 2022. Grant County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.7%. Wheeler had the lowest unemployment rate at 3.0%.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased in all six of Oregon’s broad regions between January 2021 and January 2022. Most areas still have room to recover from pandemic job losses. The largest job increases since January 2021 occurred in the Central Oregon (7.0%) region. The Portland 5 (5.5%) and Willamette Valley (5.1%) regions also experienced large over-the-year employment increases. Growth occurred at a slower pace in other regions: the Coast (3.2%), Southern Oregon (3.1%), and Eastern Oregon (3.0%).
Bar chart of over-the-year employment change in Oregon by Region from Jan. 2021 to Jan. 2022. All regions experienced OTY increases in employment. Central Oregon experienced the largest job increases at 7.0% followed by Portland 5 (5.0%) and Willamette Valley (5.1%). The Coast, Southern, and Eastern Oregon experienced slower growth.
The Oregon Employment Department will release statewide unemployment rate and industry employment data for February 2022 on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The February 2022 county and metropolitan area unemployment rates will be released on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
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