Douglas County Economic Indicators - November 2023

The November edition of the Douglas County Economic Indicators is also available on Quality Info.

There was a slight increase in employment over the last year, with declines in industries such as manufacturing and retail trade and gains in financial activities and health care. Adjusting for the seasonal change in jobs, Douglas County is only 530 jobs below its pre-pandemic peak (-1%) and the unemployment rate has fallen one and a half percentage points over the last twelve months.

For the special graph this month I’m showing an example of how I use Quality Info’s Industry Profiles tool, specifically for manufacturing in our area.

The 2008 recession caused substantial declines in manufacturing employment which had not reversed by the time the 2020 recession set in. Thankfully, the 2020 recession didn’t cause large manufacturing employment declines in most areas in Oregon, which is the case in Douglas as well.

Beyond the history of employment in an industry, you can also find occupational data such as wages, largest occupations in the field, and staffing patterns, providing insight into the type of workers needed for the industry to thrive.

This month’s articles included:                                                                                   

• Employment Among Oregon’s Veterans on Quality Info 

• A Snapshot of Oregon Firms by Size Class, 2023 on Quality Info 

• Oregon Economic and Revenue Forecast, December 2023 on Oregon Office of Economic Analysis blog

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

Oregon Employment Department

(541) 359-9178

www.QualityInfo.org