Oregon’s unemployment rate rose to 4.1 percent in December from 3.9 percent in November. Oregon’s unemployment rate has been close to 4 percent for the past two years. The U.S. unemployment rate also edged up two-tenths of a percentage point, to 3.9 percent in December from 3.7 percent in November. In December, Oregon’s nonfarm payroll employment grew by 300 jobs, following a revised gain of 300 jobs in November. These two months of nearly flat employment trends followed four months of fairly rapid job gains that averaged 3,700 per month during July through October. In December, leisure and hospitality added 1,600 jobs, health care and social assistance added 1,000, and government added 900. The industries declining the most in December were professional and business services, which dropped by 1,900 jobs, and retail trade, which cut 1,500 jobs. The federal government shutdown did not impact Oregon’s December federal government jobs tally.
