Some welcome news show local unemployment rates are down and thousands of jobs have been added to the local economy in the past year.  Oregon’s employment department, WorkSource Oregon, has released its latest workforce estimates for the month of February, and indicators show Oregon is continuing on a path of economic recovery.

While the dreary months of January and February normally represent the lowest point of the year for job opportunities in Oregon, WorkSource Oregon reports the unemployment rates in Oregon’s three largest counties have remained below 10 percent for the third consecutive month and have fallen to the lowest levels in more than two years.  Led by Washington (8.4 percent), Multnomah (9.5 percent) and Clackamas (9.7 percent) counties, all three counties remained well below the statewide jobless rate of 10.2 percent last month. 

The continuing decline in local and state unemployment rates are also being matched by impressive gains in new jobs.  WorkSource Oregon reports 10,000 more private sector jobs have been added during the past year in the Portland metropolitan region – this includes Washington (+5,500),  Multnomah (+3,200),  Clackamas (+900),  and Yamhill (+400) counties - all posting impressive gains in private sector job growth between February 2010 – February 2011.

Just 12 months earlier, between February 2009 and February 2010, these same four counties reported a cumulative loss of 35,000 jobs. So while the recent increase in employment opportunities signals some important steps in the right direction, they also indicate many more jobs will be needed before our local and state economy is truly recovered, and the estimated 93,000 unemployed residents of our four-county metropolitan region are able to find work.

The recent increase in private sector employment is being led by impressive gains among manufacturing businesses, especially in Washington and Multnomah counties where 2,200 more jobs have been added.  Washington County also added 2,800 professional and business service jobs in the past year, while all three counties reported adding an additional 2,800 educational and health service jobs since February 2010.

Also worth noting, public sector employment in all three counties actually declined by at least 1,100 jobs in the past 12 months, with more than half of this decline occurring in Washington County, where an estimated 600 jobs have been eliminated in the past year by federal agencies, local governments, and local education.  State government employment increased slightly in Multnomah County by 300, but remained unchanged in Washington and declined by 100 positions in Clackamas County.

To see the latest demographic and economic indicators