September 17, 2025

Oregon Jobs and Labor  Force – August 2025 Update

Oregon Job Growth Resumes, but Financial Sector Continues to Lag

Oregon’s labor market showed signs of recovery in August, adding 7,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll jobs after three consecutive months of decline. The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%, remaining above the national average of 4.3% and highlighting ongoing labor market weakness relative to the U.S.

Gains were broad-based, led by Education and Health Services (+2,600), Leisure and Hospitality (+1,500), and Government (+1,100). Manufacturing also added 900 jobs, breaking a three-month streak of losses, though the sector remains on a longer-term downward trajectory.

At the same time, Oregon’s financial sector continues to underperform. Financial Activities employment remains well below its pre-pandemic share, and Commercial Banking in particular has lost ground relative to the U.S. as a whole. Bank consolidation, higher interest rates, and exposure to commercial real estate have weighed on the industry, while credit unions have proven more resilient. This weakness has made Financial Activities one of the five major supersectors still below pre-pandemic levels, underscoring structural challenges for the state’s economy.

Key Highlights—Oregon August 2025 Employment Data 

• Financial Activities has continued to contract in Oregon, with Commercial Banking driving much of the decline amid consolidation, higher interest rates, and real estate pressures, even as the sector has grown nationally.
• Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 7,000 jobs in August; the private sector added 5,900.
• Largest gains: Education and Health Services (+2,600), Leisure and Hospitality (+1,500), and Government (+1,100).
• Goods-producing industries mixed: Manufacturing (+900), Construction (−200), Mining and Logging (flat).
• Service industries uneven: Other Services (+1,000), Financial Activities (+700), Trade/Transportation/Utilities (−1,000), Information (−630), Professional and Business Services (flat).
• Since January 2020, Oregon has gained 36,000 jobs, but five supersectors remain below pre-pandemic levels, led by Manufacturing (−8.3%) and Financial Activities (−7.2%).
• Labor force participation rose to 62.9% in August, above the national rate of 62.3%. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.0%, compared to 4.3% nationally.

Industry Higlight: Financial Activities

Oregon’s financial sector has steadily lost ground since the pandemic. Figure 1 shows how Financial Activities (NAICS 52) jobs have changed as a share of total Oregon employment, measured relative to their January 2020 level. The sector briefly gained ground during the early recovery but has since fallen below its pre-pandemic share. Today, Financial Activities accounts for a smaller portion of Oregon’s workforce than before COVID-19, even as the sector has expanded nationally.

Within this broader sector, Commercial Banking (NAICS 52211) stands out as a particular weak spot. Figure 2 shows that Oregon’s share of U.S. banking employment has declined more steeply than its share of financial activities overall, pointing to banks as a key driver of the state’s weakness.

Several forces help explain these trends. The 2023 merger of Umpqua Bank with Columbia Banking System reduced the state’s regional banking presence.[i] Rising interest rates have squeezed bank margins and left many institutions with large unrealized securities losses, while also dampening lending activity.[ii] Regional banks are more exposed to commercial real estate, where office vacancies and financing costs remain a challenge.[iii] In contrast, credit unions — which are exempt from federal income taxes — have been better insulated and in some cases expanding.

Taken together, the figures show that Oregon’s financial sector has been losing ground both within the state’s overall employment base and relative to the U.S. as a whole. While Financial Activities employment has grown nationally since 2020, Oregon’s share has contracted, with Commercial Banking showing the steepest decline. Other states such as Washington and California experienced growth over much of the post-2015 period, though California has softened more recently. Oregon’s contraction, however, has been both sharper and more persistent. A shrinking presence in this industry, especially in commercial banking, raises longer-term concerns for Oregon’s economic competitiveness, given the critical role financial services play in supporting households, businesses, and investment.