Oregon’s jobless rate reached 5% in July, up from 4.2% a year ago. That’s the highest it’s been since the state recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns that pushed tens of thousands of people out of work in 2020.

Outside of that COVID spike — which pushed unemployment up to a high of nearly 14% in April 2020 before job levels recovered in mid-2021— a greater share of Oregon’s workforce is unemployed than at any time since 2016, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Employment Department.

The U.S. jobless rate, by contrast, was unchanged compared to a year ago, at 4.2% in July. The country is still creating more jobs than it’s cutting, but job growth is slowing nationwide according to a report that drew condemnation from President Donald Trump and prompted him to fire the me

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