Total payroll employment in Josephine County rose by 170 jobs in April with gains across several local industries.
According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 34,353 people working in Josephine County last month for a seasonally-adjusted jobless rate of 5.4% -- down slightly from 5.5% in March.
Job gains of 40 were estimated in construction, leisure & hospitality, and private education & health services. Manufacturing, retail trade, and transportation, warehousing & utilities each added 20 jobs over the month.
Government employment slipped by 20 jobs with a loss of 30 in local government education slightly offset by a gain of 10 federal government jobs.
Over the past year, payroll employment in Josephine County slipped by 170 jobs, a decrease of 0.6%.
Industries adding new jobs since April 2023 included private education & health services (+330) and financial activities (+20). Industries with estimated job losses were leisure & hospitality (-240), manufacturing (-120), retail trade (-100), wholesale trade (-50) and other services (-40).
Government employment increased by 60 jobs over the year. Federal government, state government and local government education all added jobs since April 2023.
