Total payroll employment in Josephine County rose by 30 jobs in February, with little change over the month in most industries.
According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 33,895 people working in Josephine County in February for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 5.3%, up from 5.1% in January and down from 6.4% in February 2023.
Construction added 20 jobs over the month, but had virtually no change over the year. Retail trade was the only other published industry to show change, down by 20 jobs in February. Government employment was flat over the month as well.
Over the past year, payroll employment in Josephine County slipped by 100 jobs, a decrease of 0.4%. Local employment is now 670 jobs below the February 2020 total prior to the pandemic.
Industries adding jobs since February 2023 included private education & health services (+310), and transportation, warehousing & utilities (+10). Industries with estimated losses were retail trade (-160), leisure & hospitality (-110), professional & business services (-70), other services (-60), manufacturing (-50) and wholesale trade (-50).
Government employment rose by 90 jobs over the year. Local government (+40), federal government (+40) and state government (+10) all added jobs since 2023.
