While Crook County had one of Oregon’s highest unemployment rates in February, Deschutes County saw job growth, according to the Oregon Employment Department’s monthly employment report.

In Deschutes County, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased a smidge to 3.8% in February, up from 3.7% in January. Still, the February unemployment rate was just 0.4% above its record low set at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

By comparison, the statewide unemployment rate in February was 4.2% according to the monthly report.

Deschutes County gained 580 jobs in the first two months of the year. The biggest job growth was in the public sector, mining, logging and construction, according to the report.

In February, Crook County experienced one of Oregon’s highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in the state at 6.1%. Other counties with unemployment rates on the rise was Josephine at 5.3% and Lake at 5.2%, according to the state unemployment report. Wheeler County reported the lowest unemployment rate in February at 2.9%.

Crook County lost 10 jobs in February, mostly in the construction and public sector segments of the economy.

In Jefferson County, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly in February. The unemployment rate was 4.6% in February, compared to the 4.4% rate set from October to December 2019, according to the employment department report.