Full employment to all & to all a good job

  Oregon’s unemployment numbers continue to experience a seesaw effect.  In May, Oregon saw a decrease in unemployment numbers, but by June, the numbers showed a slight uptick that held through the summer months before retreating in November to the lower numbers seen six months ago.

   According to the state’s employment department, WorkSource Oregon, Washington County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent in November, which is the same rate recorded in May, but 1.3 percent less than a year ago; 1.6 percent less than the current state average; and 1.1 percent less than the nationwide unemployment rate.

   By comparison, Multnomah County’s unemployment rate also fell last month and now sits at 8.5 percent; Clackamas County at 8.4 percent; Yamhill County at 9 percent; and Columbia County perches at 10.4 percent.

  It is encouraging to note that half of Oregon’s counties are now experiencing unemployment rates in the single digits.  In fact, all but two counties have seen a decrease in the unemployment rate since November 2010 - the exception being Sherman and Gilliam counties, which saw a slight increase.

   Despite having high unemployment rates, Deschutes (12.1 percent) and Lane (9.1 percent) counties have recorded the sharpest declines, falling more than 2 percent in their unemployment rates in a year’s time.

  Here on the Westside, the good news is Oregon’s private sector job growth is clearly happening in Washington County, equating for one in every four jobs added in the state in the past 12 months.

  Employers in Washington County have added 4,800 total jobs since last year at this time, 900 of those were added in the past month.  Since November 2010, employers in Washington County have added 5,500 jobs in the private sector, including 1,800 in construction; 1,400 in manufacturing; 1,000 in trade, transportation and utilities, which also includes retail and wholesale positions; and 1,000 in professional and business services.  But the government sector in Washington County has lost 700 positions during the same time period. 

   At the same time, Clackamas County had an increase of 700 jobs in the private sector, but lost 600 in the public sector, leaving the county with an overall gain of just 100 jobs in a year’s time and without any noticeable gain or loss in employment between October and November of this year.

   In the past 12 months, Multnomah County’s private sector grew by 4,600 jobs, but they too have suffered a loss of 1,900 jobs in the public sector, leaving the county with a total of 2,700 jobs added. 

For the most current economic and demographic indicators