At the moment, Oregon's employment situation looks solid. The state's unemployment rate dropped in March, to 4.4% from February's 4.7%. That keeps the rate of people out of work near historic lows.
Counties in our region tend to run slightly higher, so Jackson County checked in at 4.5% and Josephine at 6.0% [while Lane reported 4.0%!].
Guy Tauer is a regional economist for the Employment Department, keeping an eye on figures from the southwestern corner of Oregon. He spends some time unfolding the numbers and what they represent.