Douglas Economic Indicators - June 2026

10 hours ago
2 min read

The June 2026 Douglas County Economic Indicators are out now. You can find them attached and updated every month on our Quality Info Southwestern Oregon regional info page.

Total employment declined slightly in Douglas County over the last year, by about 270 jobs (-1%). Manufacturing, retail, and construction were all estimated to have fewer jobs than in May of last year. Private education and health services added jobs, 100 over May 2025 (+1%), as did local government (110 jobs, +2%) and wholesale trade (60 jobs, +7%).

Unemployment was stable over the year. The current seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2%, essentially unchanged from the year before.

Graph of the Month: Several articles this month talked about the changing age structure of the workforce, so I decided to look a little closer at the county data. The graph of the month looks at the portion of the workforce in different age categories since 1992.

As in most places in the U.S. and Oregon, the population is aging, and with it the workforce. The proportion of workers under age 45 has declined by 15 percentage points since 1992. Of the workers older than that age, the proportion of workers 55-64 has increased by 8 percentage points, and workers over 65 are now five times larger in the workforce.

An aging workforce has clear implications for retirements and advancement for newer workers. It’s also evident that many more workers are continuing to work past “traditional” retirement age.

Some other great reads from around the state this month: