SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in March, marking the highest level since Aug. 2021, when it was 4.7%.

The increase follows a gradual rise over the past year from 4.1% in March 2024. In comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% in March.

Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment saw an increase of 7,300 jobs in March, building on a revised gain of 1,600 jobs in February.

Nonfarm employment refers to the number of employed people in the state who work outside of the agricultural industry, and includes the private sector and government agencies.

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The largest job gains were observed in health care and social assistance, which added 4,600 jobs.

Government jobs, including public education, saw a decrease of 300 jobs.

The growth in that sector was partly due to the return of workers who had been on strike at Providence Health & Services. Health and social assistance has been a leader in private-sector job growth in Oregon, adding 18,400 jobs, or 6.2%, over the past year.

Professional and business services followed with an increase of 1,000 jobs, while other services and wholesale trade added 800 and 700 jobs, respectively.

No other major industries experienced job changes with more than 400 positions.

Professional and business services also showed growth, adding 4,500 jobs in the first three months of the year. This growth reversed a previous declining trend, where the industry lost 5,400 jobs over the two years ending Dec. 2024.

The “other services” category, which includes religious organizations, membership associations, personal services, laundry services, and repair and maintenance services, expanded steadily for more than four years. It employed 69,300 people in March, surpassing its pre-pandemic high of 65,700 jobs in Jan. 2020.

The Oregon Employment Department is set to release the March county and metropolitan area unemployment rates on Tuesday, April 22, and the next statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for April on Wednesday, May 14.