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JACKSON COUNTY EMPLOYMENT Construction and tourism jobs up, retail down Jackson County jobless rate at 5.6 percent, down 1.4 percent from 2015 Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:47 PM Updated Jun 21, 2016 at 12:52 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:47 PM Updated Jun 21, 2016 at 12:52 PM » Social News Construction- and tourism-related payrolls mushroomed in May as Jackson County employers added 900 jobs. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released by the Oregon Employment Department Tuesday showed May's Jackson County seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 5.6 percent, down 1.4 percent from May 2015. Construction added 130 positions, while leisure and hospitality picked up 270 jobs. During the past year, construction employment saw 9.5 percent growth, logging and mining pursuits climbed 6.7 percent, while manufacturing gained 100 spots over the month. "We've seen a lot of seasonal industries hiring," said Guy Tauer, a regional economist with the Employment Department. "Our unemployment rate is hovering around a 25-year low, so overall job growth is fairly strong." Leisure and hospitality accounts for 14.5 percent of local employment, compared to 12.8 percent nationally. Although the average annual pay for a leisure and hospitality job in Jackson County is $18,087, there are many more year­ round jobs than seasonal summer jobs in tourism-related businesses. There were only 1,180 jobs more in the 2015 peak summer tourism month of August (10,830) in Jackson County, Tauer said, than during the lowest employment month, January (9,650). "While the average wage for this industry is lower than the average for all industries, there are many higher­-paying occupations that are employed in travel and tourism-related businesses," he said. Tauer noted leisure and hospitality contributed $551 million in 2014 to the local economy, or 8.5 percent of Jackson County's gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced by an economy. In comparison, he said, the manufacturing industry accounted for 11.1 percent of the county's GDP. Retail trade added 150 jobs during May, but brick-and-mortar stores are locked in a long-term battle with online sellers, and have suffered a 130-job decline over the past year. "Retail has historically added a lot of jobs in the Rogue Valley," Tauer said. "That's one of the ones we haven't seen much improvement. Actually, we're down a little over the year ... in retail trade. There's a lot of challenges in big-box and smaller stores in competition with online sales and just how the overall structure of the retail trade industry has been. Jackson County is certainly feeling some of that slowness in retail trade. Other than that, most industries are up over the year in Jackson County. Our broad-based job growth continues with the exception of information and retail trade." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greg.stiles .31 By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Follow @@GregMTBusiness Posted Jun. 21, 2016 at 12:47 PM Updated Jun 21, 2016 at 12:52 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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