Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in May to 14-point-3 percent, according to the Oregon Employment Department. That’s still near the record high rate of 14-point-9 percent set in April.
The agency said the state’s economy rebounded slightly as some counties were able to partially ease restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Still, some industries have a long way to go before they get back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Restaurants have only added back about one out of every five jobs that they lost in March and April,"said Employment Department analyst Anna Johnson. "Similarly, accommodations, which includes hotels and motels, added back only one out of ten jobs it lost the previous two months.”
Some industries continued to shed jobs in May in Oregon. Those include manufacturing and local government.
