Oregon payroll employment jumped by 7,600 jobs in October, seasonally adjusted, the biggest one-month increase in more than four years.
The numbers released today show strong hiring by universities, to handle increased enrollment, and by schools, retailers, hospitals and providers of nursing and residential care.
But Oregon’s unemployment rate remained stuck at 10.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, the same as September’s revised figure. The state rate has remained fixed between 10.5 and 10.7 percent for a year. That’s almost a percentage point higher than the national level, which was 9.6 percent in September and October.
“The new jobs did not change the unemployment rate,” said Nick Beleiciks, Oregon state employment economist.
The employment rate is derived from a survey of companies, while the jobless level comes from a poll of households, so trends don’t necessarily move in tandem during a given month. Oregon’s labor force has been growing while the number of officially unemployed has remained stuck above 200,000.
Full story: Oregon gains 7,600 jobs, biggest one-month increase in more than four years