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Central Oregon Economy in View:
By Jake Procino | Workforce Analyst/Economist, Multnomah County | Oregon Employment Department
Another odd month for economic data. With the ending of the government shutdown, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) restarted production of monthly employment and unemployment reports for the nation, states, and metropolitan. Unfortunately, this will take some time to produce. The BLS has announced that they will release September 2025 data on December 17, but have canceled the release of October 2025 data, and it will be lumped into the November 2025 data release which will be published at some later date which has yet to be announced. This means that the usual economic data update provided in this newsletter is not currently available.
However, there is still other economic data available for the region that is not usually highlighted in this newsletter that we will be taking a look at this month. The Multnomah County Economic Indicators for November are attached and a more in-depth breakdown of the select topics follows. (You can also view Economic Indicators on QualityInfo.org.)
Continued Unemployment Insurance Claims in Oregon
Continued claims reflect the current number of insured unemployed workers filing for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. This includes workers in private and public organizations covered by unemployment insurance, and includes federal civilian workers covered by Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
After staying relatively low in 2024, continued claims have remained slightly elevated in 2025. In 2022, Oregon averaged the lowest level of continued claims in recent years, with about 23,500 per week. Oregon is averaging about 33,600 continued claims per week so far in 2025. That’s 20% higher than the same period a year ago.
You can explore the data for yourself at QualityInfo.org here.
2024 Share of Total Employment by Industry, Bend MSA
Among Central Oregon’s private industries, private education and health services and specifically health care and social assistance, which accounts for approximately 93% of employment in this industry – stands out. Together, health care and social assistance now employs over 18,000 workers in Central Oregon, up nearly 180% since 2001. By 2024 private education and health services stood more than one-third above its pre-pandemic level and accounted for 17.1% of all employment in the region, making it the second largest industry of employment, slightly behind trade, transportation, and utilities (17.4%), and ahead of leisure and hospitality (14.7%).
From 2023 to 2024 alone, regional health care added jobs at a faster pace than any other major sector, offsetting losses elsewhere. This local trend mirrors the state where health care has been one of the principal drivers of employment growth.
Read more about employment in the Bend MSA on QualityInfo.org here.
Employment in Holiday Hiring Industries in 2022, 2023 and 2024
The 2024 holiday season had a holiday buildup of 9,300 employees, an 8.5% increase from September to December. That’s higher than the 8,700 (7.7%) buildup in 2023 and the 7,100 (6.2%) rise in 2022.
At the same time, holiday hiring businesses employed fewer workers throughout 2024, and failed to reach the peak December employment of the previous two years. The December 2024 peak was 1,500 jobs lower than 2023 and 2,500 jobs lower than 2022. The September 2024 base was 2,200 lower than September 2023 and 4,800 lower than 2022.
This corresponds to a looser labor market in 2024. In the few years immediately following the pandemic recession, Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped historically low and job vacancies reached historic highs. This meant that employers had a hard time finding employees and were more reluctant to let them go once they had them. Oregon’s unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in mid-2023, close to its lowest recorded rate, but then drifted upwards, rising to 4.1% by the start of 2024 and 4.3% by the end of the year. The lower September employment base and higher holiday buildup could indicate that employers were more likely to let go of workers in 2024 and had more bargaining power to bring them back during that year’s holiday season.
Read more about holiday hiring on QualityInfo.org here.
Articles of Interest
“Oregon Is Failing in Affordability and Homebuilding: Can Governor Kotek Turn the Tide?” by the Realtor.com Team, Realtor.com.
“Oregon’s Strongest Summer Travel Season in Years,” by Damon Runberg, Business Oregon.
“Oregon brewers remain optimistic, even after Rogue Ales closure,” by Zac Ziegler, Oregon Public Broadcasting.
The articles, research and publications herein are solely for educational purposes and do not imply endorsement nor reflect the views of the Oregon Employment Department.
