Overall unemployment rate moved up to 3.4% with the biggest shift in Transportation & Utilities, which gained 5,700 roles, based on the most recently available information published in February 2022.
Total employment in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA market declined by 954 jobs in December and the unemployment rate increased compared to the prior month by 10 bps to 3.4%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 20 bps over the same time to 3.7%.
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA unemployment rate is 29 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 280 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in December versus prior month by 6.9% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs grew by 0.3% . Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 237,500; +5,700
- Business Services: 201,300; -200
- Education & Healthcare: 184,700; +900
- Government: 149,100; -300
- Manufacturing: 122,400; -800
- Restaurants & Hotels: 103,100; -900
- Construction, Mining: 78,200; -1,900
- Financial Services: 74,800; +1,000
- Other Jobs: 37,900; -200
- IT & Development: 26,600; no change
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through December 2021 (Data published February 2022 and reports created on February 4, 2022). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.