Department of Numbers

Salem, Oregon Unemployment

The BLS reported that the unemployment rate for Salem fell 0.9 percentage points in November 2020 to 5.8%. For the same month, the metro unemployment rate was 0.2 percentage points lower than the Oregon rate. The unemployment rate in Salem peaked in April 2020 at 13.1% and is now 7.3 percentage points lower. You can also compare Salem unemployment with unemployment in other cities.

Unemployment Rate November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
National 6.7% -0.2 +3.1
Oregon 6.0% -0.8 +2.6
Salem 5.8% -0.9 +2.3
Note: Metro level data is now seasonally adjusted.1 All comparisons are made with November 2020 data as December metro level unemployment data has not yet been released.

Unemployment Rate: Salem, Oregon, National

Salem, Oregon monthly unemployment rate chart

Note: Recessions shown in gray.

Salem, Oregon Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Salem peaked in May 2020 at 26,214. There are now 14,636 fewer people unemployed in the metropolitan area. Salem employment and jobs data (including jobs lost/gained in Salem, Oregon) is also available.

Unemployed Persons November 2020 Month/Month Year/Year
Salem 11,578 -1,963 +4,486

Number of Unemployed Persons

Salem, Oregon Unemployment History

Date National
Unemployment Rate		 Oregon
Unemployment Rate		 Salem
Unemployment Rate		 Salem
Unemployed
December
2020		 6.7% — — —
November
2020		 6.7% 6.0% 5.8% 11,578
October
2020		 6.9% 6.8% 6.7% 13,541
September
2020		 7.8% 7.9% 7.8% 15,025
August
2020		 8.4% 8.5% 7.9% 15,432
July
2020		 10.2% 10.4% 9.7% 18,828
June
2020		 11.1% 11.6% 10.7% 21,763
May
2020		 13.3% 14.3% 13.0% 26,214
April
2020		 14.8% 14.9% 13.1% 26,198
March
2020		 4.4% 3.5% 3.5% 7,056
February
2020		 3.5% 3.3% 3.5% 7,069
January
2020		 3.5% 3.3% 3.6% 7,181

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. ↩

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