Multnomah County lags in Oregon job recovery July 29 2021 Multnomah County, which often leads Oregon out of economic downturns, is lagging this time. An economist for the Oregon Employment Department says the state's most populous county is one of two that has regained only three of 10 jobs lost during the downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic last year. The other is Benton County, whose seat is Corvallis, and is dependent on education and government jobs. "They led in Oregon's recovery from the Great Recession, but they are lagging in the wake of COVID-19," employment economist Gail Krumenauer told reporters during a weekly conference call. "So are metropolitan areas nationwide."