Payroll Employment Decreases in October for Oregon

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the state of Oregon in October was 8.6 percent, which is pretty much unchanged from the 8.7 percent from the month of September. The unemployment rate for October 2011 was 9.3 percent for the state, according to the Coast River Business Journal.

In October, the nonfarm payroll employment in October dropped by 2,400 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for seasonally adjusted numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also said that private sector dropped by 1,200 jobs for October and that the public sector dropped 1,200 jobs. Oregon’s revised numbers for September show that just 800 jobs were loss when it was initially estimated that 7,900 jobs were lost. The greatest revisions came in private education and local government education.

For nonfarm payroll employment in Oregon from October of 2011 to October of 2012, estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show there was a seasonally adjusted job gain of 15,300, which is a 0.9 percent increase. Over that span of time, there were 17,500 jobs added in the private sector and 2,200 jobs lost in government.

In October, economists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that private-sector educational and health firms added 2,700 jobs, which falls under the 3,800 normal seasonal gain that month. There were 1,900 jobs added in private-sector educational services because the academic year was back in session full-time. In October, the industry employed 36,600 in October 2012 compared to 36,900 in October 2011.

Government jobs increased by 17,700 in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The typical seasonal increase for October is 18,900.

In September, the average workweek for manufacturing production employees in Oregon was 40.7. In October, the number rose to 40.8. The average workweek was sitting at 40.6 hours in October of 2011. Higher average hourly earnings are seen more often in the autumn months than in the summer months because there are lower numbers of seasonal, lower-paid employees are working.

The average wage for October was $22.21 per hour for private-sector payroll workers in Oregon. From October of 2011 to now, wages have gone up by 30 cents, which is good for a 1.4 percent increase. The average in October of 2011 was $21.91. The hourly wage was $22.25 in September of 2012. The unemployment rate for the state of Oregon fluctuated between 8.4 percent and 8.9 percent for the first 10 months of 2012. There were 159,439 Oregon residents unemployed for the month of October. That number is 15,652 less than October of 2011 when there were 175,091 residents unemployed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers its estimates by surveying businesses and these are just preliminary estimates, which could always be revised at a later point in time.