Strong monthly hiring in April across Central Oregon helped to drive down local unemployment levels near or below historic lows reports Damon Runberg Regional Economist serving the East Cascades of Oregon.
Oregon Employment Department
Deschutes County posted very large employment gains in April. Meanwhile, Crook and Jefferson Counties are approaching historically low levels of unemployment despite the number of jobs in non farm businesses remaining well below the pre-recession peak.
Crook County: The unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent from 6.0 percent in March.The rate was 7.3 percent last April.
Crook County added 70 jobs from March, a fairly typical gain for this time of year.
Employment in local nonfarm businesses is little changed with only 20 additional jobs compared with this time last year (+0.3 percent). The only noteworthy gains were in construction (+60 jobs) and education and health services (+30). Job losses were spread across a variety of sectors, including wood product manufacturing, local government, and professional and business services.
Deschutes County (Bend-Redmond MSA): The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was little changed in April at the series low of 3.6 percent. The rate is down from last April when it was 4.9 percent.
Deschutes County posted significant job gains in April. The county added nearly 1,900 jobs from March, which is over 800 more jobs than typically expected this time of year. Although many different industry sectors added jobs in April the largest gains were posted in professional and business services, which added 650 jobs from March.
Recent revisions revealed that the county is adding jobs at a faster pace than initially estimated. There were 3,700 more jobs in April compared with April 2016 (+4.8 percent). The fastest growing industry sectors are all housing related, including construction (8 percent) and financial activities (11.9 percent). However, the largest jobs gains were seen in educational and health services (+750 jobs) and professional and business services (+670 jobs). No industry sector posted job losses from last year.
Jefferson County: The unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in April, down slightly from 5.5 percent in March. This matched the lowest unemployment rate recorded during the past expansion in late 2006. The rate is down significantly from last April when it was 7.0 percent.
Jefferson County added 160 jobs in April, stronger hiring than typically expected this time of year.
Total nonfarm employment is up 70 jobs from this time last year (+1.1 percent). Manufacturing continues to see strong gains (+90 jobs).Meanwhile, a handful of private industries posted minor losses including retail trade and leisure and hospitality.
