SALEM, OR -- Oregon's jobless rate increased slightly in June, to 4.8%. It's now in line with the national average of 4.9%. Employment Department Economist Nick Beleiciks says it's reaction to a pattern of unusually low unemployment. "We had three months of Oregon’s unemployment rate being the lowest on record, going back at least 40 years. And, the increase to 4.8% in June is probably a sign of people responding to the tight labor market." He adds, "There are more people entering the labor force this summer, than we’d typically expect." That increase in the number of people looking for work causes the unemployment rate to rise.
Despite the uptick, "Oregon’s unemployment rate is still really low historically," says Beleiciks. The state added 3,000 in June, "The sector that added the most jobs was professional and business services, which added 1400 jobs." Health care, financial services and manufacturing all lost jobs. In the past year, Oregon has added nearly 60,000 jobs.