Lincoln County adds 240 jobs in March, but unemployment rate stuck at 8 percent

Lincoln County added 240 jobs in March, but the area’s unemployment rate was stuck at 8 percent, among the highest in Oregon.

The Oregon Employment Department on Tuesday said the private sector added 240 jobs and government employment rose by 40, making a total of 16,860 people on Lincoln County payrolls.

The leisure and hospitality sector added 250 jobs and Indian tribal government added 30 jobs in March, according to regional economist Erik Knoder. Nondurable goods manufacturing shed 30 jobs, he said, while other industries had smaller changes.

March’s total nonfarm employment numbers showed a loss of 1,580 jobs compared with one year before, a decrease of 8.8 percent, Knoder reported. Almost every major industry lost jobs over the year. Leisure and hospitality accounted for much of the drop with a loss of 920 jobs (-21.0 percent) from the year before, Knoder said, while local government shed 250 jobs over the year.

Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8 percent in March, essentially unchanged from 8.1 percent in February. It was 3.9 percent in March 2020. The unemployment rate for Oregon and the United State was 6 percent in March.