The Latest Stories For You From Salem Reporter

Good morning, Salem.
The Salem area’s unemployment rate declined to 3.8% in May, according to recently released state data.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, which doesn’t include impacts from seasonal patterns, has continued to decrease since February, when the rate was 4.7%.
The rate was 3.9% in May 2022, according to Oregon Employment Department data for the region, which includes all of Marion and Polk counties.
Patrick O’Connor, the department’s regional economist, told Salem Reporter in January that a sustained unemployment rate below 4.5% is historically rare for Salem.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people in the Salem area was around 8,019 in May, 469 fewer than in April and a decrease of 194 compared to May 2022.
The number of unemployed people, seasonally adjusted, had been since decreasing from around 10,261 in October 2022 – more sharply dropping after February, state data showed.
Without seasonal adjustment, the unemployment rate increased from 2.9% in April to 3.2% in May.
The number of unemployed people – not seasonally adjusted – grew from 6,013 in April to 6,669 in May, according to state data.
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