With another solid month of estimated job growth in August, Oregon’s payrolls are looking better relative to other states. Since the middle of 2022, the rate of job growth has swung well above and below the national average. After starting 2024 very soft, gains have accelerated once more in recent months. Oregon’s unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.0% in August from 4.1% in July and has remained virtually unchanged for nearly a year.

Growth was led by large monthly job gains among healthcare & social service providers as well as private educational services. Monthly losses were largest among leisure and hospitality firms and government workers.

Over the past year, payrolls in Oregon have remained relatively flat, with a slowdown in spending evident and stress among industries that are most sensitive to high interest rates. As spending has slowed, large job losses have been seen across a range of retail trade establishments as well as at food service providers. In keeping with a cooling job market, there has been a sharp decline in the number of temporary workers over the year as well.

The Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate cut this month could not have come sooner for Oregon’s job market given that high interest rates have clearly been hurting growth over the past year. At the topline, construction and manufacturing firms have been stagnant over the past year.  Drilling down into industry segments, many of those most sensitive to high interest rates have cut a significant number of jobs including motor vehicle and parts dealers, building material suppliers, and credit intermediation firms.

Although it will take several months, lower interest rates will remove some of the headwinds faced by Oregon’s job market. According to the Oregon Employment Department, job counts will also look significantly better after the next round of quarterly data revisions.

Key Findings—Oregon August 2024 Employment Data

• In August, Oregon added 1,500 jobs, with the private sector gaining 2,300 jobs while the local government lost 800 jobs. Meanwhile, the preliminary employment figures for July have been revised downwards, showing a smaller increase than initially reported.
•  The state’s total employment is approximately 1.0% higher than it was in early 2020, ranking 36th among states in employment growth since 2020.
•  4 out of 11 major sectors added jobs in August. The leisure and hospitality sector lost 1700 jobs in August, the highest loss of the major sectors.
•  The state’s education and health services sector added 3200 jobs in August, the biggest gain in any sector.
•  The state’s unemployment rate decreased to 4% in August but remains above its 3.6% level one year ago.
•  Oregon’s LFPR (labor force participation rate) remained unchanged at 63% in July.
•  According to the BLS survey of establishments (CES), Oregon has recovered to its pre-pandemic employment-to-population ratio in August 2021.
• According to the BLS measure of local employment (LAUS), which captures both traditional jobs and self-employment, Oregon's employment recovered to its pre-pandemic level in March 2021 and has remained above since.

A Deeper Dive into Oregon Industries (BLS CES Survey) 

• In July, Oregon gained 1,500 jobs, with the private sector adding 2,300 new jobs.
• The education and health services sector led with an increase of 3,200 jobs, followed by the transportation sector which gained 1,100 jobs.
• Conversely, the leisure and hospitality sector faced the steepest decline, losing 1,700 jobs, with local government losing 800 jobs.
• The trade, transportation, and utilities sector remain the largest employer in Oregon, followed by the education and health services sector.
• Over the past 12 months, the education and health services sector has gained 17,700 jobs, while the professional and business services has lost 3200 jobs.
• After a notable increase of 3,100 jobs in July, Oregon’s local government experienced a setback with a loss of 800 jobs in August.
• The state’s private sector grew by 1000 jobs since August 2023. Despite a large decline in jobs in January 2024, the private sector has added 15,000 jobs since then.
• 6 of the 11 major sectors are below what they were in January of 2020.
• The mining and logging sector employment level is 9% lower than it was in January 2020.The education and health services sector employment level is 7.7 %higher than its level in January 2020.

Oregon Labor Force Update

Oregon’s LFPR (labor force participation rate) remained unchanged at 63% and in August, while the unemployment rate fell to 4%.

Key Findings—Oregon August ‘24 Labor Force Data (FRED) 

• Oregon’s LFPR is currently 63%, 1.9 percentage points higher than in January 2020.
•  Although the LFPR declined considerably in 2020, its consistent rise since then is an encouraging trend and is now at its highest since 2012.
• The unemployment rate fell to 4% in August, though it remains significantly higher than its 3.5% rate from one year ago.

Data Sources

The data in this report are compiled from monthly and annual data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), including data from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey and Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS). Some data are sourced directly from BLS, and others are retrieved from FRED.