By: Conner Williams
 Editor in Chief

The State of Oregon lost 5300 jobs in September, ending 36 consecutive months of job growth, according to a report from the State of Oregon Employment Department.

The decline was a fairly significant step backwards from the gain of 3500 jobs that was seen in August.
The report said that a “loss of more than 5000 jobs in a single month is a rare occurrence during the last six years.”

In September, the unemployment rate for the state rose from 6.1 to 6.2 percent, totaling 119,983 people without jobs in Oregon. However, the rate is down significantly from 6.9 percent in September of 2014.

Oregon added a total of 49,500 jobs during that 12-month period, resulting in a growth rate of 2.9 percent.

According to the report, the job losses were spread across eight industry groups, with four of those eight contributing the most, including:

• Construction: -1800
• Retail trade: -1600
• Professional and business services: -1300
• Leisure and hospitality: -1600

“… It’s too early to tell if the losses are just a blip in the recovery or a signal of a slower growth this autumn,” said Nick Beleiciks, Oregon’s state employment economist.

While many industries did have a decline in jobs, two industries expanded during the month of September:

• Government: +1300
• Healthcare: +800

An article from The Oregonian claimed that the numbers could turn out to be different after more accurate adjustments are made once the complete data becomes available.