My Recruiting Blog

More jobs in Oregon were lost during March as the state's unemployment rate increased.

During March, Oregon's unemployment rate increased from 10.5 percent to 10.6 percent, following a decrease from 10.7 percent during February. That increase keeps the state's rate higher than the national average of 9.7 percent.

Oregon had a total non-farm employment of 1,590,400 workers during March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,590,800 workers during February and a 2.3 percent decrease from last year.

Five industries managed to see a monthly increase in employment during March, including: manufacturing by 1,100 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities by 400 jobs; professional and business services by 600 jobs; leisure and hospitality by 400 jobs; and government by 600 jobs.

Only one industry managed to see a yearly increase in employment. The education and health services industry employed 223,800 workers during March, down from 224,800 workers during February, but a .8 percent increase from March 2009.

The construction industry took the biggest hit when compared to last year. The industry employed 63,700 workers during March, down from 64,000 workers during February and a 16.4 percent decrease from last year.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:

• Mining and logging by 2.7 percent
• Manufacturing by 5.3 percent
• Trade, transportation and utilities by 1.1 percent
• Information by 2.4 percent
• Financial activities by 3.4 percent
• Professional and business services by 4 percent
• Leisure and hospitality by .4 percent
• Other services by 2.2 percent
• Government by .1 percent

Labels: Jobs in Oregon