Central Oregon Economic Indicators—March 2024

Published on May 16, 2024

Economy in Central Oregon

By Nicole Ramos | Regional Economist Serving the East Cascades of Oregon | Oregon Employment Department

All over-the-year total nonfarm employment gains in March were concentrated in Deschutes County, with employment up by 2,320 jobs. In contrast, Crook County saw employment decrease by 380 jobs over the year, while Jefferson County saw employment decline by 100 jobs.

The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased slightly from 3.9% in February to 3.8% in March, and at the statewide level, the unemployment rate remained unchanged from February to March at 4.2%.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates across Central Oregon continued to increase over the month of March. Crook County’s unemployment rate went from 6.1% in February to 6.3% in March; Jefferson County’s rate went from 4.6% to 4.7%; and Deschutes County’s from a revised rate of 4.0% to 4.1%. That said, the counties of Deschutes and Jefferson saw a year-over-year decline in their seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.

Topic of the Month: Artificial Intelligence

This month’s featured graph looks into roles that have the most exposure to Artificial Intelligence (AI). The data for this classification stems from the Pew Research Center, which segmented occupations based on the level of exposure to AI within their job responsibilities, classifying them as high, medium, or low exposure roles.

The positions depicted in the graph face a spectrum of potential outcomes due to automation. Some roles may experience a decline in employment as tasks become automated, while others might witness an expansion in job responsibilities and skill requirements through the integration of AI techniques.

The effect of AI on workers in these fields will vary widely. Many of the depicted positions are clerical or assistant roles across diverse industries. These roles could see a transformation where routine research and categorization tasks are performed by AI assistants, freeing up time for more strategic endeavors. Professions such as drafting, design, and scientific occupations are likely to adopt or collaborate with automated creative processes. In fact, AI helped edit and rewrite this section.