Southwestern Oregon Economic Indicators for December 2021 (Douglas data)

The December 2021 Douglas County Economic Indicators are out now and also available at this qualityinfo.org link.

Douglas County employment grew slightly from November of last year, adding 130 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. Unemployment continues to march downward, and now stands at 5.1%, which is similar to the level in early 2019 although not yet matching its previous low near the beginning of 2020.

For the graph of the month, I looked at the job recovery in several areas of western Oregon. The shape of that recovery looks different based on what region you are in. Portland and metros with large universities (Lane and Benton counties) tended to suffer the most job loss initially and have struggled to keep up with the state’s recovery since. Southern Oregon had better recovery rates than the state in 2020, but progress has slowed in late 2021. The best performing metro areas in the state are in the mid-Valley, such as Albany (Linn County) and Salem.

For the graph I tried to draw some parallels between regions by picking some illustrative examples of the larger/college metros (green), Southern Oregon (blue) and the Mid-Valley (orange).

This month’s articles included:

- Southwest Oregon Jobs Projected to Increase 10% by 2030 on Quality Info

- Oregon’s Forestry and Logging Industry: From Planting to Harvest on Quality Info

- Just How Much is Working from Home on the Rise? from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

As always, the Indicators contain all the latest economic data on our area. If you have a data question or want to learn more about any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Henry L. Fields

Workforce Analyst/Economist

Serving Lane and Douglas counties

Oregon Employment Department

(541) 359-9178 | henry.l.fields@employ.oregon.gov