PORTLAND — The state’s jobless rate fell slightly in August to 3.8 percent, according to data out Tuesday from the Oregon Employment Department. It’s a modest decline, 0.1 percentage point, but set a new mark for Oregon’s lowest unemployment since at least 1976.
Oregon had 80,500 unemployed last month, down 8.5 percent from August 2017. The state gained 42,000 jobs in the prior 12 months, a 2.2 percent growth rate. That’s on par with recent months but weaker than it had been just a few years ago. Oregon’s economy has slowed during its long expansion, which is typical of extended upcycles.
Just 28,000 of Oregon’s unemployed are out of work because they lost their job, either through layoffs or individual firings, according to state data. In 2009, at the height of the Great Recession, five times as many Oregonians were unemployed because they lost their jobs.
Construction remains one of Oregon’s hottest job sectors. It accounted for more than a quarter of all payroll growth in the past year. Manufacturing, professional services, hospitality and health care jobs are also on the rise.
