Whew! Oregon not a contender for top unemployment rate

Federal agency says state’s 11.5 percent rate in September falls behind top four states

Pamplin Media Group, Oct 21, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

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Oregon is no longer one of the top states for unemployment.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that Oregon’s 11.5 percent unemployment rate in September wasn’t enough to put it among the states with the highest unemployment rates.

That’s the first time in several months that Oregon has not been one of the states with the highest unemployment rates. At one time, Oregon was slightly behind Michigan for the highest rate in the nation.

According to the federal agency, Michigan’s 15.3 percent unemployment rate again led the nation in September. No. 2 was Nevada’s 13.3 percent rate, with Rhode Island (13 percent) and California (12.2 percent) rounding out the top four.

North Dakota continued to have the lowest jobless rate, 4.2 percent in September, followed by South Dakota (4.8 percent) and Nebraska (4.9 percent).

The national unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped in September to 11.5 percent from about 12 percent in August. State employment officials said last week that the number of unemployed Oregonians actually fell in September to about 211,539 people, down from 231,197 in August. They were unable to explain the drop, even though September usually sees a decline in the labor force as people go back to school.

During the past 12 months, Oregon’s labor force, which includes about 1.96 million people, has declined by 6,769 people.

September’s unemployment rate was the lowest since February’s 10.7 percent, and down from a high of 12.2 percent in May.

A year ago, the state’s unemployment rate was 6.8 percent.

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Reader comments

Re: Whew! Oregon not a contender for top unemployment rate

YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have the 45th lowest unemployment rate in the nation!!! And the 45th lowest tax rate in the nation!!!!!!!!! See you all in the streets dancing with glee at the good news!!!!!

""

(email verified)

Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 02:17 PM

Re: Whew! Oregon not a contender for top unemployment rate

One question. What has our elected government done to lower these numbers? Oregon has always been in the upper half of the unemployment numbers in state rankings, even in the good times, and there is absolutely no call for it. Our state has so many natural resources that could employ thousands upon thousands of people but instead, because someone gets their nose out of joint over a timber sale or catching salmon or...or...etc. we have to pretty much lead the nation with unemployment numbers. A very proud moment for me.

"Wayne"

(email verified)

Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 03:00 PM

Re: Whew! Oregon not a contender for top unemployment rate

tribune... you actually missed the most important fact in this story:

"... As Oregon's jobless rate hops around, chief government economist Tom Potiowsky focuses on job losses, which concern him far more. "That seasonally adjusted job loss of over 10,000 is not good news at all," said Potiowsky, referring to September's drop..." read more here: http://www.portlandwaterfront.com/discourse/2009/10/12/what-1-billion-in-federal-stimulus-buys-oregonians.html

The fact is that Oregon is LOOSING FTE positions by the thousands each month. This skews downward the raw percentage (which is a ratio, influenced by the total number of jobs). This is very, very troubling news.

"Scott Quick"

(email verified)

Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 03:14 PM

Re: Whew! Oregon not a contender for top unemployment rate

Tribune: read more on on the Jobless Recovery here:

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/10/macroblog-growing-case-for-jobless.html

It discusses in greater detail the job losses. Quoting:

The percentage of employee separations labeled permanent is at a recorded high.

Underneath the usual total unemployment numbers are the reasons an individual is unemployed: You are on temporary layoff; you quit your job; you have reentered the labor market and have yet to find a job; or you are entering the job market for the first time and have yet to find a job. Or, finally, you have been permanently separated from your previous employer, who has no expectation of hiring you back.

The last category is the dominant reason for unemployment at this time. That might not seem surprising, but it actually is. Never, in the six recessions preceding the latest one, did permanent separations account for more than 45 percent of the unemployed. The current percentage stands at 56 percent as of September and appears to be still climbing.