Oregon unemployment drops to 9.6 percent

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Oregon's jobless rate fell to 9.6% in April, its lowest point in more than two years.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was the lowest since 9.2 percent in December 2008, primarily due to an increase in new jobs, agency officials said. The rate has hovered in the mid-10 percent range for about a year after hitting a high of 11.6 percent in June 2009. The state also revised the March jobless figure down slightly from 10 percent to 9.9 percent.

"Businesses are ready to start hiring again, they're feeling more confident about the future," said Nick Beleiciks, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department.

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0 #1 Oregon Jobless rate falls to 9.6%... — P. Manning 2011-05-18 11:03:10

How much of the 9.6% figure takes into consideration the vast number who had unemployment insurance funds expire in April..bringing way down insurance claims? Or the many employable people who have simply given up ever finding a family wage job in Oregon. Hard to believe the 9.6% rate is accurate.

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0 #2 Nothing to Brag About — LIsa 2011-05-18 11:39:24

It's hard to believe that anyone is bragging about an unemployment rate over 9%. Yes it's going in the 'right' direction but to assume this means that businesses are hiring....well you know what ASSUME says.

Oregon's high taxes, environmental and regulatory structure is not very appealing to businesses.

I'd love to hear from businesses that are 'optimistic' and planning to hire more employees in the near future.

Oregon Business

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