Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in January, from 5.5 percent, as revised, in December 2015. The last time Oregon’s unemployment rate was this low was in June 2007, when the rate was also 5.1 percent. A year ago, in January 2015, Oregon’s unemployment rate was 5.9 percent. Oregon’s payroll employment surged by 9,900 in January. Four major industries each added close to 2,000 jobs: professional and business services (+2,100 jobs), construction (+1,900), leisure and hospitality (+1,800), and manufacturing (+1,700).

Oregon’s job growth over the last year has been really strong. Payroll employment rose by 59,600 jobs, or 3.4 percent, between January 2015 and January 2016. During this period, the industries seeing the fastest growth and adding the most jobs were professional and business services (+11,000 jobs, 4.9 percent), health care and social assistance (+8,800 jobs, 4.0 percent), leisure and hospitality (+8,700 jobs, 4.6 percent), and construction (+4,100 jobs, 5.0 percent).

“Oregon’s labor market is as good as it was during previous expansions,” said Nick Beleiciks, Oregon’s state employment economist. “The unemployment rate is now lower than it was in most of the mid-2000s and nearly as low as in the mid-1990s. Oregon is adding jobs at a faster rate than during the mid 2000s, and the number of jobs added over the last year is on par with growth during the mid-1990s.”