Portland Jobs Snapshot: Good News and Bad News

By JAMES PITKIN

Christian Kaylor, a workforce analyst with the Oregon Employment Department, has just come out with his monthly snapshot of the Portland job market. Kaylor's one-page graphic analysis (PDF) based on the latest data mixes some good news and bad news.

First, the main take-away: Unemployment in the Portland metro area fell to 9.1 percent in March—still lagging the national jobless rate of 8.8 percent.

Next comes the good news: Portland has added more jobs than Seattle, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Boise or Denver.

And then comes the bad news: As Kaylor has previously pointed out in WW, while the Portland area has been adding residents over the past decade, we haven't created any new jobs to match that increased demand.


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