PORTLAND — Oregon’s jobless rate edged up last month to 4.8 percent, compared to 4.5 percent the prior month, according to data out early Tuesday. It’s the first increase in Oregon’s unemployment rate since May 2015.
State economists said “a large increase in Oregon’s labor force” was partly responsible for the June climb, with the state’s work force now at an all-time high of 2.05 million.
Washington unemployment numbers will be reported today.
Many employment sectors grew in June, led by private educational services and professional and business services. The leisure sector eliminated 1,000 jobs, however, and employment in electronics manufacturing fell by 500 jobs.
Intel laid off 784 Oregon workers in April in a broad corporate restructuring but paid those workers through May, so June is the first month those cuts begin showing up in state labor data.
