Employment levels slowly recovering in the Rogue Valley

MEDFORD, Ore. — Employment levels in the Rogue Valley are slowly recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

The Jackson County unemployment rate fell from 11.6 percent in June to 10.4 percent in July, according to recent Oregon Employment Department data.

This time last year, the county was at just 4.3 percent.

“We’re still a long way to get back to that record level of unemployment we saw this time last year,” said Guy Tauer, Oregon Employment Dept.

Josephine County is showing similar trends.

The unemployment rate was 11.5 percent in June down 10.6 percent in July.

Last year, at this time, the rate was 4.9 percent.

OED says whether unemployment rates will continue to drop in the coming months is dependent on reopening guidelines and closures.