Douglas County Economic Indicators - February 2022
The February 2022 Douglas County Economic Indicators are out now and also available at this qualityinfo.org link.
Employment decreased by 180 jobs in January in Douglas County on a seasonally adjusted basis, after gains of 200 and 140 in the previous two months. Growth over the year was 480 jobs, a rate of 1.3%. We’ve recovered 66% of the jobs lost in March and April 2020.
The largest over the year gain was in leisure and hospitality with 420 jobs added. Professional and business services saw the largest decline, with 270 jobs lost. Unemployment was 4.9%, down from 6.4% the year before but unchanged from December 2021.
For this month’s special graph I looked at building permits issued for housing in Douglas County. As housing costs have risen in recent years and the population continues to grow, keeping an eye on how much housing is permitted is an interesting leading indicator with ramifications for our labor market.
2021 saw the most units permitted since at least 2001, with both more units total and more multi-family units than any year in two decades.
Last week I wrote the article Manufacturing Employment is Important and Varied in Douglas County on Quality Info– I encourage you to check it out.
Other articles this month included:
Recent Wage Gains Short-Lived as Inflation Reaches 40-Year High on Quality Info
Industry Outlook (March 2022) 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
