Salem, Ore. – Oregon’s Payroll Employment Reaches All-Time High in November
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.
The labor force grew rapidly again in November, expanding for the seventh consecutive month. Since November 2013, the number of Oregonians employed has expanded by nearly 41,000, while the labor force has also grown by nearly 41,000. Meanwhile the number of unemployed remained unchanged at nearly 132,000.
Next Press Releases
The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the November county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Monday, December 22nd and the statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for December on Wednesday, January 21st.
The Oregon Employment Department is responsible for releasing Oregon’s monthly payroll employment and labor force data. The data are prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS estimates of monthly job gains and losses are based on a survey of businesses. The BLS estimates of unemployment are based on a survey of households and other inputs.
The Oregon Employment Department publishes payroll employment estimates that are revised quarterly by using employment counts from employer unemployment insurance tax records. All department publications use this official Oregon series data unless noted otherwise. This month’s release incorporates the April, May and June 2014 tax records data. The department continues to make the original nonfarm payroll employment series available; these data are produced by the BLS and are revised annually.
For the complete pdf version of the news release, including tables and graphs, visit www.QualityInfo.org/press-release, then within the Press Release Documents list, select Oregon Monthly Employment Situation. To obtain the data in other formats such as in Excel, visit www.QualityInfo.org, then within the top banner select Economic Data, then choose LAUS or CES. If you want the press release as a Word document, please phone the contact person shown at the top of this press release.
For help finding jobs and training resources, visit one of the state’s WorkSource Oregon Centers or go to: www.WorkSourceOregon.org.
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