Employment on South Coast: December 2016 December Unemployment Rates Lowest in Ten Years, Jan. 25

Coos County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined in December to 6.2 percent from a revised 6.7 percent in November. The rate is 0.9 percentage point below the December 2015 rate (7.1%).  The last time a December rate was this low was prior to 1990. Oregon’s seasonally adjusted December unemployment rate was 4.6 percent; the national rate was 4.7 percent. The county’s total payroll employment declined over the month by 120 jobs. Coos County lost 90 jobs over the year ending in December, a decline of 0.4 percent.  Curry County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined in December to 6.8 percent from a revised 7.3 percent in November. The rate is 1.1 percentage points below the December 2015 rate (7.9%). The last time a December rate was this low was in 2007 (6.6%). The county’s total payroll employment declined over the month by 140 jobs. Curry County added 140 jobs over the year ending in December for a 2.2 percent annual growth rate.