A gas station in Molalla advertises for attendants. Oregon’s unemployment rate rose to 5% in July, marking the state’s highest rate of joblessness since July 2021. (Photo by Lynne Terry/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon’s unemployment rate rose to 5% in July, marking the state’s highest rate of joblessness since Oregonians began regaining opportunities to work that were lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oregon Employment Department announced the figures in mid-August, noting that the state lost 2,700 jobs in July and 24,600 jobs total since the state logged last year’s July 2024 unemployment rate of 4.2%.
The last time the state’s unemployment rate was that high was in July 2021. The most recent numbers compounded with a recorded loss of 8,600 jobs in June 2025, part of a year of losses that has hit areas such as Portland and coastal and central Oregon the hardest.
The industries most affected by the job losses include financial activities, professional and business services and health care and social assistance. The largest gains were for the construction, transportation, warehouse and utility industries, though the manufacturing has lost about 9,400 jobs over the past year. For instance, the semiconductor manufacturing company Intel, which operates campuses in Aloha and Hillsboro, laid off around 2,400 workers in July, The Oregonian reported.
“Overall, Oregon’s employment situation is weaker than originally reported,” said Gail Krumenauer, state employment economist for the Oregon Employment Department, during an Aug. 14 media briefing.
The federal unemployment rate for July, however, was 4.2%, meaning Oregon lags behind the national average. Krumenauer stressed that the state’s labor force participation rate – based on the number of people 16 and older who are employed or actively seeking work — has remained steadier than nationwide. Oregon’s labor force participation rate rose to 62.8% in July, while the national rate stands at 62.2%.
“We’ve seen now a few consecutive months of job losses, which is concerning. We haven’t seen what I would think would be the next logical step when we’re seeing large numbers of big layoffs and things like that, which would be a sustained uptick or surge in first time initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits,” she said. “That’s actually stayed relatively low.”
Oregon lawmakers moved to expand unemployment benefits to striking public and private sector workers this past legislative session, enacting Senate Bill 961 into law. The legislation pitted school boards and some industry groups against powerful labor advocates and unions, leading to amendments that limited payouts to 10 weeks and required deductions in backpay for benefits claimed by teachers during strikes. The law is set to go into effect in January.
Oregonians who have recently lost their jobs can file an initial claim online through Frances Online, by calling 1-877-345-3484 or through faxing or mailing what is called a Form 115 available in a variety of languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Farsi. The number of July claims from workers who have already completed their initial filings rose to 30,874, the highest number of currently unemployed workers with coverage to do so since June 2021, according to state data.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
