A "now hiring" sign is posted at the McDonald's restaurant on East Barnett Road in Medford. 

Jackson County’s March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose marginally from February to March to 4.9%, but the latest number is an improvement from the same month last year.

The March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the Medford-Ashland metropolitan area is an increase of 0.1% from the month before, but a 0.3% decrease from March 2023, according to regional jobs data for the month issued Tuesday by the Oregon Employment Department. 

The county’s total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120 jobs between February and March to 88,680. The number for March 2024 is identical that of the same month last year.

The report shows that some industries posted losses while others posted gains. Among the fields showing the largest gains over the past year were private education and health services, which added 770 jobs over the past year, including 60 new jobs between February and March, which brings the number in the industries to 19,330. Government jobs are up by 300 for the year, and up by 70 for the month, bringing the number of government workers to 12,180.

Industries that saw the largest losses over the last year include professional and business services, down 390 jobs to 7,900 as of March; financial activities, down 250 jobs to 3,590; and leisure and hospitality, which fell 150 jobs to 10,350.

Monthly data showed many of those fields on an upswing. Though down for the year, leisure and hospitality was up 140 jobs and professional and business services added 70 jobs from February. No jobs were added in the financial activities sector between February and March.

Josephine County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for March is 5.5%, unchanged from February and down half a percent from March of last year. The Grants Pass region’s total nonfarm payroll employment for March was 26,760, a decrease of 170 jobs from last year, but an increase of 120 jobs from February.

Industries in Josephine County that have seen the largest gains over the past year include private education and health services, up 290 to 6,040, and government, which added 80 jobs over the past year to 3,520.

Josephine County fields that saw the biggest losses over the year include retail trade, down 130 jobs; leisure and hospitality and professional and business services, each down 80 jobs from March of last year.