Oregon’s Payroll Employment Reaches All-Time High in November, Dec. 17

After seven years, Oregon’s payroll employment rose above its pre-recession peak in November. Seasonally adjusted payroll employment jumped to a record level of 1,740,800, which was 3,000 above the prior peak reached in December 2007. November marked the largest one-month gain for Oregon since comparable records began in 1990. Seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 11,200. This followed a revised gain of 7,400 in October, with growth not as strong as the originally estimated gain of 9,900. These monthly job totals are produced each month by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gains across the major industries in November were broad-based. Six of the major industries each added more than 1,000 jobs. It is rare for so many industries to gain that many jobs in one month. Retail trade (+2,200 jobs), professional and business services (+1,900), leisure and hospitality (+1,700), construction (+1,400), wholesale trade (+1,100), and government (+1,100) were the industries adding the most jobs. Oregon’s unemployment rate stood at 7.0 percent in November, the same as the prior two months. The state’s rate has been close to 7.0 percent throughout the past 12 months. Oregon’s unemployment rate has changed little in part because the state’s employment gains have been matched by rapid labor force growth.