According to Damon Runberg, Economist for the State of Oregon Employment Department, record snow across the region in January had little effect on Central Oregon’s employment situation. Monthly jobs losses were consistent with seasonal norms and unemployment levels were little changed on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Crook County: The unemployment rate remained little changed at 6.6 percent in January from the revised rate of 6.5 percent in December.The rate was 7.7 percent last January.
The county shed 130 jobs from December,slightly more than the expected loss of 100 jobs this time of year.A high concentration of the monthly job losses were in federal and local government agencies. The only other notable industry changes in January were a loss of 20 jobs in retail trade, as well as, professional and business services.
After annual revisions, Crook County’s employment situation is essentially unchanged from this time last year (-10 jobs). The private sector is up a modest 30 jobs, while public sector employment dipped by 40 jobs from last January. Industry employment losses over the past year continue to be concentrated in manufacturing, in particular, wood products (-50 jobs). These losses were more than made up for by gains in education and health services (+60 jobs), information (+20 jobs), and leisure and hospitality (+20 jobs).
Deschutes County (Bend-Redmond MSA): The unemployment rate remains very low at 4.6 percent, but the rate ticked up slightly from 4.4 percent in December. The rate is down slightly from this time last year (5.1%). Neither the monthly nor annual change was statistically significant.
Deschutes County lost 1,400 jobs from December, which was actually fewer than expected for this time of year. Following the end of the holiday shopping and tourism push we saw large declines in retail trade (-580 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (-340 jobs). Most industries posted job losses in January, including 80 jobs lost in both manufacturing and construction. Record snow on the ground had little effect on Deschutes County’s total non-farm employment levels.
There were 3,100 additional jobs in Deschutes County businesses in January compared to the same time last year, a growth of 4.2 percent. Job growth over the past year continues to be diverse with strong gains in construction, retail, transportation, professional and business services, and health care. Recent revisions revealed that financial activities saw significant growth over the past year due in part to growth from the real estate sector. The only industry to post job losses over the past year was leisure and hospitality (-80 jobs), a relatively small decline, but perhaps a sign that the tourism industry may be leveling off.
Jefferson County: The unemployment rate remained little changed at 6 percent in January. The rate was 6.1 percent in December and 7 percent in January 2016.
Jefferson County shed 70 jobs in January, fewer losses than typically expected this time of year. The majority of these losses were concentrated in Indian tribal government (-80). Manufacturing posted an impressive gain of 50 jobs from December.
Jefferson County saw a moderate bump in employment levels after recent revisions. The county added around 100 jobs from this time last year (+1.7 percent). Nearly all the growth over the past year was concentrated in private businesses with particularly strong growth in construction, financial activates, manufacturing, and wholesale trade.
