November Unemployment Numbers Are In

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in November, down from 4.4% in October. The U.S. unemployment rate was also 4.2% in November. Oregon’s unemployment rate has declined rapidly over the past six months; it was close to 6% throughout the first half of the year. Oregon’s unemployment rate is now close to the state’s historically low unemployment rates which averaged 3.9% during 2017 through 2019, the three calendar years at the end of the prior economic expansion.

The Portland Metro tri-county rates are also showing robust returns to pre-pandemic rates. Washington county has rebounded the fastest with a November rate of 3.5% whereas Multnomah county is a little higher than the Oregon and National rate with a 4.4% rate. The below chart includes Clackamas, Multnomah, Washington counties along with the overall Oregon unemployment rates covering December 2020 to November 2021. December 2021 data will be released on January 19, 2022 and we will post on the SVN News page and is also available on the Oregon Employment Department website.