Seasonal retail hiring helped Oregon’s unemployment rate fall to 9.1%, the lowest it has been in three years.
Seasonal retail hiring helped Oregon’s unemployment rate fall to 9.1%, the lowest it has been in three years.
The sharp drop paralleled November’s national jobless rate, which also fell 0.4 percent, to 8.6 percent. But economists say the declines don’t mean more people are finding jobs.
“Similar to the national data, the drop in the rate of unemployment is due to the number of people who exited the labor force by no longer looking for work,” said Patrick Emerson, an Oregon State University economist, writing on his blog.
Oregon’s total employment, measured in a separate monthly survey, declined by 1,600 in November, following a revised loss of 600 in October. Gains in sectors including construction were offset by losses in leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, financial activities and government.
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