Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.2% in January and 5.3%, as revised, in December.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.3% in January and 4.4% in December, according to a news release last week issued by the Oregon Employment Department (OED).
- In January, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 2,000 jobs, following a gain of 100 jobs, as revised, in December. January’s gains were largest in leisure and hospitality (+1,800 jobs); health care and social assistance (+1,500); and construction (+1,000).
Losses were largest in manufacturing (-1,500 jobs) and professional and business services (-1,300). - Leisure and hospitality performed better than the normal seasonal pattern in January, employing 209,800, which was 1,800 jobs, or 0.9%, above its January 2025 total.
Despite these recent gains, it employed only slightly more workers than during most of the past few years. - Health care and social assistance rose by 4,100 jobs during the three months ending in January. During the 12 months ending in January, it added 9,800 jobs, or 3.2%, the fastest growth rate among Oregon’s major industries during that period.
- Construction’s 1,000-job gain in January was a partial rebound from its 2,400-job loss the prior month.
Over the past two years, construction generally declined from a high of about 118,000 jobs throughout much of 2023, to its January 2026 level of 111,600 jobs. - Manufacturing cut 1,500 jobs in January, following a gain of 1,300 in December.
Since August, manufacturing has fluctuated around 178,000 jobs.
Prior to this period of relative stability, manufacturing shrank rapidly from a recent high of 195,000 jobs in November 2022. - The 1,300-job decline in professional and business services in January left the industry 7,600 jobs, or 2.9%, below its year-ago total, and 17,000 jobs below its peak of 268,100 jobs in 2023.
