The local economy of Oregon and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
5.1%
August 2026, 5.3% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,481
Q1 2026, 1,952,327 jobs
New homes permitted
15,315
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
-5,653
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Oregon, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Oregon is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Oregon was 5.1% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 5.3% a year earlier. 2,095,305 people were employed out of a labor force of 2,208,273. Among its counties, Hood River County had the lowest rate (3.7%) and Josephine County the highest (7.2%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Oregon was $1,481 in Q1 2026, up 4.6% from a year earlier, across 1,952,327 jobs at 173,451 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 935 new homes in Oregon in August 2026 (751 single-family and 131 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 9,842, up 3.7% from the same months last year, and 15,315 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Deschutes County (2,399), Washington County (2,217), Multnomah County (1,973) over the last 12 months.
No, more people moved out than in. From 2022 to 2023, 99,974 people moved to Oregon and 105,627 moved away, a net loss of 5,653 (-1.7 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from California, Washington, Texas, and most people who left went to Washington, California, Texas.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Oregon. In its region, West Coast except California, regular gasoline averaged $5.15 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.