Oregon’s jobs recovery strengthened in July. Oregon added 20,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls, and the unemployment rate dropped significantly to 5.2%.
Leisure and hospitality added 7,100 jobs in July. That means one out of three jobs added over the month was at Oregon’s restaurants, hotels, and entertainment places. In the first seven months of 2021, Oregon’s leisure and hospitality sector added as many jobs as it did in five years (61 months) leading up to the pandemic.
Government added 12,800 jobs in July. These were related
to public education. School employment was already much lower than
normal in July, and they had fewer layoffs than we’d generally expect
this time of year. When we expect schools to let go of bus drivers and
cafeteria workers for the summer, but there were already not as many
working at schools recently, it can look like a big gain.
Oregon’s
unemployment rate improved from 5.6% in June to 5.2% in July. This was a
significant drop that happened because many unemployed people found
jobs over the month. Oregon’s unemployment rate hit its all-time peak of
13.2% in April 2020. In the 15 months since then, the rate has fallen
by 8.0 percentage points.