Total payroll employment in Josephine County climbed by 80 jobs in December.
According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 34,576 people working in Josephine County last month for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 5%, which was up from 4.6% in November but down sharply from 6.6% in 2022.
Gains included estimated increases in private education & health services, retail trade and leisure & hospitality. Sectors with job declines over the month were construction and federal government. Other industries showed little change.
Over the past year, payroll employment in Josephine County rose by 570 jobs -- an increase of 2.1%. The county is now 50 jobs above the December 2019 total prior to the pandemic.
Industries adding jobs since December 2022 included private education & health services (+520); leisure & hospitality (+100); transportation, warehousing & utilities (+80) and manufacturing (+50). Sectors with estimated losses over the year included retail trade (-100), professional & business services (-80) and financial activities (-50).
Government employment rose by 70 jobs over the year. Local, state and federal government all added jobs since December 2022.
