SALEM — Oregon workforce officials said Tuesday, July 13, the state’s unemployment rate dropped in June to 5.6%, down from a 5.8% tally for May that was revised downward.

The state added 7,500 jobs in June, according to the Oregon Employment Department, down from an average of 10,100 in the five months prior.

The numbers show Oregon continues to recover from the COVID-19 recession, but the rapid rebound seen in the recovery’s first months has slowed.

The state has recovered only 76% of the jobs it lost in March and April 2020.

The state’s unemployment rate remains well above the historic lows seen just before the pandemic, but it now sits firmly below the national rate, which ticked up to 5.9% last month.

Still, thousands have been unemployed for the past year or more. That group includes about 40,000 Oregonians, a large increase from 8,000 during the three years before the pandemic struck.

The largest employment gains last month came in health care, which added 1,700 jobs; logistics, up 1,000; and the hard-hit hotels, bars and restaurants industry, also up 1,000. The construction industry shed about 700 jobs in June.