In August, Oregon’s nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 9,500 jobs, following a revised gain of 7,400 in July. This was the first decline in seven months, dating back to January when employment dropped by 1,300. The August jobs report indicates that Oregon’s over-the-year job growth, while strong, has slowed. Between August 2016 and August 2017, payroll employment expanded by 44,600 jobs, or 2.4 percent. This is a reduction from the 3.1 percent job-growth rate seen through July. “August’s job losses were an unusually sharp departure from months of very large job gains,” said Nick Beleiciks, Oregon’s state employment economist. “But looking past recent gains and losses, Oregon’s over-the-year job growth continues to be very good.” The decline in August was concentrated in four of the 14 broad industry groups: leisure and hospitality (-3,600 jobs), government (-3,200), financial activities (-1,300), and wholesale trade ( 1,300). None of the major industries added more than 400 jobs.
