Oregon’s unemployment rose to 4.6%, but state officials can’t confirm how much is due to federal workforce cuts by DOGE.
Chris Lehman/KLCC
Oregon’s unemployment rate ticked up last month to 4.6%. According to the Oregon Employment Department, the rate has been rising gradually over the past year.
It was 4.1% in March 2024.
State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer told KLCC at this point it’s still difficult to see the impacts of federal workforce reduction efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“What we see in the numbers that are published is a decline of 100 jobs on federal government payrolls in Oregon between February and March,” she said. “And over the past year, the federal employment in Oregon is down by 400 jobs.”
Krumenauer said it’s hard to say if those were directly related to workforce reduction efforts.
Related: Oregon’s unemployment rate edges up in February
She said Oregon might see further declines later in the year because there were tens of thousands of federal workers who accepted buyout offers which won’t show up in jobless numbers for several months.
March’s employment gains were largest in health care and social assistance. That’s partly because health care workers who’d been on strike returned to work last month.
She said there was a one-month gain of 4,600 jobs in health care and social assistance in March. This is the industry that’s been leading private sector job growth over the past few years.
“That has been a long-running and consistent story for a year now where we’re seeing continual and consistent growth in health care and social assistance, when we’re really seeing generally little growth in other sectors of the economy,” she said.
Krumenauer said Oregon’s unemployment rate of 4.6% is still relatively low by historical standards.
“But it has been drifting upwards over the past couple of years,” she said.
Rachael McDonald is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
