Portland unemployment dips to 8.9%

Portland Business Journal - by Suzanne Stevens, Web editor

Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 7:33am PDT

 

The Portland metro area added 1,600 jobs in April, which helped bring the unemployment rate down to 8.9 percent. 

 

Portland's jobless rate was 9.3 percent in March and 10.7 percent a year ago, according to data from the Oregon Employment Department. The national average is 9 percent, and Oregon's unemployment rate in March stood at 10.2 percent.

The biggest gains were seen in construction, which added 1,000 jobs in April, and manufacturing, which gained 400 jobs.

While unemployment remained high in some of Oregon's rural counties — Crook County has the highest rate at 15.3 percent — all but three Oregon counties reported a decline in jobless rates.

@pdxbizjournal | sstevens@bizjournals.com | 502-219-3480

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