Over the past year ending in May, non-farm employment in the Portland metropolitan area dropped by 0.8%, marking the most significant job loss among the top 50 cities in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In contrast, cities like Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio experienced the fastest job growth, as reported in a regular briefing by Oregon state economist Jake Procino, who covers Multnomah County.
Portland’s economy has been heavily impacted by layoffs across various sectors. Major employers such as Nike and Intel reported a 5% reduction in their workforce over the past year, according to recent filings. Oregon Health & Science University has also been undergoing workforce reductions since June.
Additionally, companies like Block, Target, and Lost Boys Interactive have issued WARN notices indicating job cuts during the same period. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices have been notably high in volume, reflecting the challenging job market in the Portland area.
Jake Procino commented on the situation, noting, “There have been quite a few public notices and WARN notices showing layoffs, and that volume has been relatively high in the past year, both of which have likely contributed to the year-over-year job loss that we’ve seen in the Portland MSA.”
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Yamhill, and Columbia counties in Oregon, along with Clark and Skamania counties in Washington.
Despite the employment cuts, the unemployment rate in the Portland area remained relatively low at 4% in June, below its 10-year average of 5%, according to Procino. He also highlighted that Oregon as a whole saw job growth, with non-farm employment increasing by 0.6% in the year ending June 30.
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