Douglas County Economic Indicators - February 2026

The February 2026 edition of the Douglas County Economic Indicators is also available at this QualityInfo.org link.

Over the year to December, Douglas County employment was essentially flat, adding 80 jobs. Private education and health services added the most jobs (190, +3%), with professional and business services also adding jobs (100, +4%). Manufacturing and retail employment contracted over the year.

Unemployment was 6.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. That’s one percentage point higher than December 2024.

Graph of the Month: Public higher education enrollment was the topic of a recent Quality Info article, spotlighting growth in student headcount in 2025. I looked deeper at data in the article from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to stack up Umpqua Community College with statewide trends.

Headcount enrollment at Umpqua Community College has increased from the lows experienced during 2020-2022 along with the state. However, community college enrollment was down about 20% across Oregon, including at UCC, in 2025 relative to 2015.

This month’s articles included:                                                                                   

• Job Losses and Rising Unemployment: 2025 in Review on Quality Info

• Employee Tenure (Still) Averages Four Years on Quality Info 

• Fall 2025 Hiring Among Oregon’s Private Employers Drops to Lowest Level Since Spring 2020 on Quality Info 

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

www.QualityInfo.org