Construction trade in Oregon strong

SALEM, Ore. – Continuing expansion in the construction industry, particularly in the area of home-building, helped produce strong job growth for Oregon in March, the Oregon Employment Department said last week.

In its monthly jobs report, the agency said Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment registered growth of 6,500 jobs in March, after a gain of 2,600 jobs in February.

Last month’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, was 5.5 percent, down slightly from the February rate of 5.6 percent, and well below the year-ago jobless rate of 6.2 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7 percent last month.

The state’s March jobless rate has declined steadily over the past two years as the state’s economy has continued to recover from recession.

The employment agency said construction continued to expand rapidly last month and reached a record level for the time of year, gaining 1,700 jobs, when a loss of 200 is the typical March trend.

The March increase followed a seasonally adjusted gain of 1,200 jobs in February. The sector has had 19 straight months of increasing seasonally adjusted employment, averaging 900 new jobs per month over that time.

David Cooke, a state employment economist with the agency, said much of the expansion in the construction industry has come in the residential area, including construction of single-family homes, apartments and condominiums.

Educational and health services added 2,000 jobs in March when it typically sheds 300, the department said. Private-sector educational services added 1,000 jobs as did health care and social assistance.

Financial activities also performed well in March. While it typically loses 200 jobs in March, last month it added 1,000.