In June, Deschutes County recorded its highest monthly total number of nonfarm jobs — 74,380 — since the Oregon Employment Department began keeping numbers for the county.

According to the department’s monthly unemployment update, which was released Tuesday, Deschutes County added 1,300 net jobs from May to June, which was enough to push the total above the previous monthly record, posted in June 2007.

The figures represent total nonfarm employment, which encompasses full- and part-time employees who worked or received payment during the pay period that includes the 12th of each month, according to the monthly update.

Damon Runberg, Central Oregon economist for the Employment Department, said it wasn’t a coincidence that both records occurred in June. The totals reflect seasonal hirings in the tourism sector and other industries.

“June tends to be one of the highest employment months of the year,” Runberg said.

Deschutes County also saw an infusion of 921 new arrivals in the labor market.

In part because of the new arrivals, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Deschutes County rose to 6.2 percent in June from 5.9 percent in May.

Runberg said the uptick was mainly due to people moving to Deschutes County without jobs and new college graduates who haven’t been able to find employment yet, rather than layoffs.

“From an economic perspective, the increase in the labor force is a good thing,” Runberg said.

Last month’s unemployment rate remained below Deschutes County’s figure for June 2014, which stood at 7.8 percent.

The private sector added 1,490 jobs in June, while the public side lost 190.

The 1,490 private-sector jobs added in June came from a variety of industries. However, the vast majority came from the leisure and hospitality segment, which added 1,080 since May. Part of the uptick is endemic to the industry, which tends to add jobs in early summer because of increased demand. However, the industry reported 11,210 jobs in June 2014, about 730 fewer than today.

Rocky Adrianson, general manager of The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center, said he’s seen an uptick in tourism hirings, both at his hotel and elsewhere in town.

“From an employment standpoint, we certainly have more bodies on the (hotel) grounds than at any time since I’ve been here,” said Adrianson, who started at The Riverhouse eight years ago.

Over the previous 12 months, the educational and health services sector saw the greatest growth, increasing by 800 jobs. Runberg attributed the increase to continued growth in the health care sector, as well as expanding public and private education budgets, a sign of an improving economy.

Elsewhere in Central Oregon, Crook and Jefferson counties both exceeded employment projections in June. Crook County added 210 jobs for the month, while Jefferson County added 130. The two counties had seasonally adjusted unemployment rates of 8.2 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.

Roger Lee, executive director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, said the numbers reflected the sustained growth the region has seen over the past few years.

In particular, he said, brewing, bioscience, recreational product manufacturing and technology have grown significantly since the last employment peak in 2007.

“Those industries are all larger percentages of the total job market than they were eight years ago,” Lee said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7818, shamway@bendbulletin.com