Press Release: Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 5.2% In November - 01/07/26

Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 5.2% in November

Today, the Oregon Employment Department released monthly employment and unemployment data for November 2025, after a significant delay due to the federal government shutdown.

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.2% in November and 5.2% in September. The October unemployment rate is not available since underlying data was not collected due to the federal government shutdown that month. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.6% in November.

In November, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 1,600 jobs, following a loss of 2,000 jobs in October. November’s gains were largest in leisure and hospitality (+2,100 jobs) and health care and social assistance (+1,000 jobs). Losses were largest in government (-800 jobs) and information (-600 jobs).

Leisure and hospitality experienced an uptick in hiring recently, adding 3,900 jobs between July and November, following a stagnant period of employment from 2023 through mid-2025. Its component industry, accommodation and food services, has been particularly robust, adding 4,900 jobs since July.

Health care and social assistance continued its rapid expansion over the past several years, adding 10,900 jobs, or 3.5%, between November 2024 and November 2025.

Government employment cut 2,300 jobs between September and November. Federal government lost 800 jobs during the most recent two months as those taking early retirement incentives were recorded as dropping off payrolls in October.

The information industry cut 1,200 jobs between September and November. At 33,400 total jobs in November, it rapidly declined since reaching a peak of 37,300 jobs three years ago.

Next Press Releases

The Oregon Employment Department plans to release the October and November county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for December on Thursday, Jan. 22.

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Oregon Jobs Projected To Increase 6% By 2034 - 12/18/25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 18, 2025 | Audio available at 10:00 AM

CONTACT INFORMATION: Sarah Cunningham, Projections Economist, (503) 871-0046

Oregon Jobs Projected to Increase 6% by 2034

The Oregon Employment Department projects Oregon’s total employment to grow by 141,000 jobs between 2024 and 2034. These employment projections reflect modest job growth in the economy, although many additional job openings are expected due to the need to replace workers who leave their occupations.

In 2024, there were 2.2 million jobs in Oregon. The projected 6% increase in employment between 2024 and 2034 includes private-sector gains of 125,500 jobs, growth of 7,700 jobs in government, and an additional 7,400 self-employed Oregonians.

All broad sectors in Oregon are expected to add jobs by 2034, except for federal government, which is projected to decline by 3% (-1,000 jobs). The private health care and social assistance sector is projected to increase the fastest, growing by 13%. Private health care and social assistance is also projected to add the largest number of jobs over the next 10 years (+40,400 jobs). This growth is attributed to the aging of the state’s population, longer life expectancies, and an expected rebound in the state’s long-term population growth.

The construction and professional and business services sectors are projected to grow at the second-fastest rate, gaining 10% each. Growth in construction can be attributed to construction of buildings (+11%) and specialty trade contractors (+11%), which includes establishments that perform specific construction-related activities such as site preparation, plumbing, painting, and electrical work.

Growth in professional and business services is expected to be primarily driven by professional and technical services (+15%), which includes architectural and engineering services (+23%), computer systems design and related services (+10%), and legal services (-3%).

Many of the fastest-growing occupations are associated with jobs in the health care industry. Nine of the top 15 fastest-growing occupations by 2034 are in health care. They include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical and health services managers, and psychiatric technicians. Computer and mathematical occupations comprise three of the top 15 fastest-growing occupations, as demand increases for workers who can model, interpret, and analyze data in addition to demand for the development of AI solutions and their integration into business practices. They include data scientists, information security analysts, and operations research analysts.

A broad variety of career opportunities will be available across all sectors, as well as all job types. Four out of 10 job openings will require education or training beyond high school, but applicants will require education beyond high school to be competitive in six out of 10 job openings.

Occupations with the most job openings that typically require a high school diploma or less include fast food workers, stockers and order fillers, retail salespersons, cashiers, and home health and personal care aides. Those requiring a postsecondary certification or associate’s degree include bookkeepers, truck drivers, nursing and medical assistants. Occupations with the most job openings requiring at least a bachelor’s degree vary from general and operations managers to registered nurses, other educational instruction and library workers, project management specialists, and all other business operations specialists.

All areas of Oregon are expected to see job opportunities in the coming years due to economic growth and the replacement of workers leaving the labor force. The two areas projected to grow faster than Oregon's rate of 6% are the Portland tri-county area (7%) and Central Oregon (7%). Slower growth is expected in the Columbia Gorge, Northwest, South Central, Southwestern Oregon, and the Eastern Six Oregon counties with 5% growth each.

Additional Information

More information on 2024-2034 industry and occupational projections for Oregon and sub-state areas can be found at www.qualityinfo.org/projections. 

The Oregon Employment Department (OED) is an equal opportunity agency. OED provides free help so you can use our services. Some examples are sign language and spoken-language interpreters, written materials in other languages, large print, audio, and other formats. To get help, please call 503-947-1444. TTY users call 711. You can also send an email to communications@employ.oregon.gov.

El Departamento de Empleo de Oregon (OED) es una agencia de igualdad de oportunidades. El OED proporciona ayuda gratuita para que usted pueda utilizar nuestros servicios. Algunos ejemplos son intérpretes de lengua de señas e idiomas hablados, materiales escritos en otros idiomas, letra grande, audio y otros formatos. Para obtener ayuda, por favor llame al 503-947-1444. Usuarios de TTY pueden llamar al 711. También puede enviar un correo electrónico a communications@employ.oregon.gov.

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Press Release: Oregon’s Unemployment Rate Was 5.2% In September (Photo) - 12/10/25