Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Oregon Unemployment
The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Portland fell 0.3 percentage points in April 2013 to 7.5%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than the Oregon rate. The unemployment rate in Portland peaked in May 2009 at 11.1% and is now 3.6 percentage points lower. You can also compare Portland unemployment with unemployment in other cities.
| Unemployment Rate | April 2013 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | 7.5% | -0.1 | -0.6 |
| Oregon | 8.0% | -0.2 | -0.8 |
| Portland | 7.5% | -0.3 | -0.8 |
Unemployment Rate: Portland, Oregon, National
Note: Recessions shown in gray.
Portland, Oregon Unemployed
The number of people unemployed in Portland peaked in June 2009 at 131,992. There are now 44,826 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Portland employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Portland, Oregon) is also available.
| Unemployed Persons | April 2013 | Month/Month | Year/Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | 87,166 | -3,949 | -11,593 |
Number of Unemployed Persons
Portland, Oregon Unemployment History
| Date |
National Unemployment Rate |
Oregon Unemployment Rate |
Portland Unemployment Rate |
Portland Unemployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
May 2013 |
7.6% | — | — | — |
|
April 2013 |
7.5% | 8.0% | 7.5% | 87,166 |
|
March 2013 |
7.6% | 8.2% | 7.8% | 91,115 |
|
February 2013 |
7.7% | 8.3% | 7.9% | 93,194 |
|
January 2013 |
7.9% | 8.4% | 7.9% | 92,734 |
|
December 2012 |
7.8% | 8.3% | 7.7% | 91,051 |
|
November 2012 |
7.8% | 8.4% | 7.8% | 92,187 |
|
October 2012 |
7.9% | 8.5% | 7.9% | 93,532 |
|
September 2012 |
7.8% | 8.6% | 8.0% | 94,986 |
|
August 2012 |
8.1% | 8.8% | 8.1% | 96,361 |
|
July 2012 |
8.2% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 97,430 |
|
June 2012 |
8.2% | 8.8% | 8.3% | 98,116 |
|
May 2012 |
8.2% | 8.8% | 8.3% | 98,491 |
1. Metro area unemployment rates are now seasonally adjusted. The BLS has started publishing smoothed seasonally adjusted metropolitan area data which makes comparisons to state and national data more relevant than the unadjusted numbers. ↩

