Construction Boom in Oregon Fails to Offset Steady Climb in Unemployment

The construction industry rebounded impressively in July with the addition of 2,900 jobs, according to the Oregon Department of Employment.

Although this gain augers well for the construction industry, the 112,700 people employed are nevertheless well below the average of 117,500 jobs during the previous two years.

Unemployment Continues to Grow

Of concern is Oregon’s steadily growing unemployment rate.

By July, the state’s unemployment rate reached 5%, creeping up steadily since the same time last year when the rate was 4.2%. Oregon is almost 1% above the national rate of 4.2%.

Employment in Professional and Business Service Sectors Continues to Dip

Another sector that has been steadily declining since 2023 is the professional and business services sector, which has lost 14,800 jobs since peaking in March 2023. In July 254,100 Oregonians were employed by this sector after 1,400 positions were lost.

For the first time in several months, the employment rate in the healthcare and social assistance sectors shed 1,100 jobs.

Gaining impetus with the addition of 800 jobs were the transportation, warehousing, and utilities industries.

A total of 24,600 jobs have been cut from the Oregon nonfarm payroll since July 2024.

Manufacturing lost 9,400 jobs, while information, private education, wholesale trade, financial activities, and construction cut their payrolls by between 3% and 4%.

During that time, only two major industries expanded – healthcare and social assistance (+9,800 jobs, or 3.2%) and leisure and hospitality (+2,000 jobs, or 1.0%).