Oregon lost about 4,100 jobs last month, but the state’s overall unemployment rate remained roughly the same.
In a Wednesday news release, the Oregon Employment department reported that professional and business services were on a slightly downward trend. Leisure and hospitality is also employing fewer people than average.
State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer said some industries are seeing change, but Oregon’s overall unemployment rate has remained steady at 5.2%.
"We've seen very little change in the size of the labor force or in the number of unemployed Oregonians," she said. "Now, our unemployment rate is a little higher than the US which was at 4.1% in July, but we haven't seen much substantial change in Oregon's unemployment rate for more than a year now."
Retail was one of the few industries that reported gains last month with about 500 jobs, though that industry overall has seen declining employment over the last several years.
