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| March 2005 statewide unemployment rate | ||
| 04/11/2005 | ||
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David Cooke, Economist, Oregon Employment Department (503) 947-1272 Oregon’s Employment Situation: March 2005 In March, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted payroll employment rose by 5,000 after an upwardly revised gain of 11,600 in February. Monthly job gains were strongest in construction, manufacturing, and trade. Nonfarm payroll employment is up 58,600 or 3.8 percent since March 2004, with solid gains over the year in most major industry sectors. Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data) • Construction employment continues to rapidly advance. In March, 1,700 jobs were added at a time of year when a loss of 400 is typical. This 2.1 percent increase was close to the nation’s 2.0 percent construction gain. Oregon’s increase was concentrated in heavy and civil engineering construction (+800) and specialty trade contractors (+1,000). Building finishing contractors, a subset of specialty trade contractors, increased by 800 jobs to 13,600, which was a gain of 2,200 since March 2004. • Manufacturing added 800 jobs in March, after a gain of 1,800 in February. Manufacturing posted solid gains over the year, due largely to growth in durable goods manufacturing, which gained 8,200 jobs over the year. In March, the only durable goods industry to cut jobs was computer and electronic product manufacturing (-300). Nondurable goods added 300 in March, the second month of increase after hitting a new low in January, when employment dropped to 48,600. • Trade, transportation, and utilities’ wholesale trade gained 800 jobs in March, for an over the year increase of 2,900 jobs or 3.9 percent. Durable goods merchant wholesalers, up 600 jobs in March, accounted for most of the increase. Wholesale trade’s new employment level of 77,200 is equal to its peak reached in September 1998.Retail trade increased by 1,300 in March to 188,800. This sector grew by 7,900 jobs (4.4%) since March 2004. Building material and garden supply stores made up most of the increase, with a gain of 900 jobs to employ a total of 15,100. Unseasonably warm weather in the first two months of 2005 meant an early start to the gardening and home improvement season. Other retail sectors adding jobs in March were motor vehicle and parts dealers (+400) and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (+400). • Other services added 1,000 jobs in March. Each of its three component sectors — repair and maintenance, personal and laundry services, and membership associations and organizations — added close to 300 jobs. • Professional and business services added 1,200 jobs at a time of year when a gain of 1,900 is typical. This weak performance followed a gain of 2,300 in February. Over the year gains of 5,700 jobs or 3.3 percent were led by administrative and waste services, which added 3,400 during that time. • Government added only 600 jobs in March, when a gain of twice that amount is normal for the month. Federal government declined by 300, while local government added 400. Unemployment (Household Survey Data) Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in March and 6.5 percent in February. The rate dropped from 7.6 percent in March 2004, which equals a drop of 1.4 percentage points in 12 months. Preliminary figures for February show the over-the-year drop in Oregon’s unemployment rate was among the steepest nationwide. March figures for all states will be published by the U.S. Department of Labor later in the month. In March, 126,389 Oregonians were unemployed, compared with 159,401 in March 2004. The Oregon Employment Department will release statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for April 2005 at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 16, 2005. — end —
For help finding jobs and training resources, visit one of the state's WorkSource Oregon Centers or go to: www.WorkSourceOregon.org. Equal Opportunity program - auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. |
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