Oregon’s unemployment rate falls in June

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped for the fifth consecutive month in June.

The Oregon Employment Department said Wednesday that the rate was 3.5%. That’s down from its most recent high of 4.8% in January.

State employment economist Gail Krumeanauer said jobless numbers are approaching their pre-pandemic low.

“In June, the number of unemployed Oregonians fell to 76,000,” she said. “And that was the lowest we’d seen since February of 2020.”

Some of the largest gains in June were in government jobs and leisure and hospitality jobs. The largest decline was in wholesale trade.

Oregon’s unemployment rate is just below the national rate of 3.6%