Overall unemployment rate moved down to 2.9% with the biggest shift in Restaurants & Hotels, which gained 2,000 roles, based on the most recently available information published in June 2023.
Total employment in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA market declined by 7,128 jobs in April and the unemployment rate decreased compared to the prior month by 60 bps to 2.9%. The national unemployment rate decreased by 53 bps over the same time to 3.1%.
- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA unemployment rate is 20 bps below the national rate which is a positive sign.
- Unemployment in the market is 60 bps below the unemployment rate in the market last year at this time, which is a positive.
- Average wages (per hour) grew in April versus prior month by 6.7% and are up compared to last year at this time in the market.
For key employment segments of the market, total jobs grew by 0.4% . Key sectors include:
- Transportation & Utilities: 224,800; -200
- Business Services: 203,800; -500
- Education & Healthcare: 190,200; +500
- Government: 155,900; +300
- Manufacturing: 125,900; +200
- Restaurants & Hotels: 117,900; +2,000
- Construction, Mining: 85,000; +500
- Financial Services: 77,000; +600
- Other Jobs: 43,700; +1,500
- IT & Development: 28,800; +700
Data is based on the most recent 12 months available, through April 2023 (Data published June 2023 and reports created on June 8,2023). Source: Government data agency and locally acquired statistics.
Note: All reported data is not seasonally adjusted.