Total payroll employment in Josephine County fell by 540 jobs in January as broad-based job losses were estimated in most published industries.
According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 33,705 people working in Josephine County in January for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 5.1%, which was up from 4.9% in December and down from 6.5% in 2023.
The most notable job declines were posted in leisure & hospitality, retail trade, construction, professional & business services, private education & health services, and transportation, warehousing & utilities.
Government lost 50 jobs in January, with declines in local education, state government and federal government.
Over the past year, payroll employment in Josephine County slipped by 50 jobs, a decrease of 0.2%. The county is now 570 jobs below the January 2020 total prior to the pandemic.
Industries adding jobs since January 2023 included private education & health services (+380), and transportation, warehousing & utilities (+20). Industries with estimated losses were retail trade (-180), leisure & hospitality (-160), professional & business services (-70), wholesale trade (-50) and other services (-50).
Government employment rose by 100 jobs over the year, with gains in local (+50), federal (+30) and state (+20) government.
