January 2022 Employment and Unemployment in Oregon’s Counties

In January 2022, 25 of Oregon’s 36 counties experienced over-the-month decreases in their unemployment rates. Five counties experienced a 0.2 percentage point decrease or more over the month including Clatsop, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, and Jefferson counties.

Grant County had Oregon’s highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January at 5.7%. Other counties with some of the highest unemployment rates included Klamath (5.6%), Crook (5.5%), Curry (5.5%), and Lincoln (5.4%).

Wheeler County registered the lowest unemployment rate for the month at 3.0%. Other counties with some of the lowest unemployment rates in January were Benton (3.1%), Washington (3.4%), and Hood River (3.5%). Seventeen counties had unemployment rates at or below the statewide rate of 4.3%. Twelve counties also had unemployment rates at or below the nationwide rate of 4.0%.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased in all six of Oregon’s broad regions between January 2021 and January 2022. Most areas still have room to recover from pandemic job losses. The largest job increases since January 2021 occurred in the Central Oregon (7.0%) region. The Portland 5 (5.5%) and Willamette Valley (5.1%) regions also experienced large over-the-year employment increases. Growth occurred at a slower pace in other regions: the Coast (3.2%), Southern Oregon (3.1%), and Eastern Oregon (3.0%).