States w/ Statistically Significant Unemployment Rate Changes
Update:
Reader Thomas asks the question:
Any particular obvious reason why Oregon is hit so badly? Somehow, it wasn't on my list of usual suspects. Did they have lots of construction jobs?I was wondering the same thing. The Statesman Journal ponders the question.
The question on everyone's mind is why Oregon's unemployment rate has risen so high, Cooke said."We don't have definitive answers," he said. "We have some ideas as what is the likely cause."
California, which has suffered a strong economic hit with the bursting of the housing bubble, is likely dragging down Oregon's economy, he said. California's unemployment rate is the nation's fourth highest at 11.2 percent.
The housing bust also has affected demand in Oregon's lumber and wood products industry, Cooke said.
Demand for mobile homes and other durable goods made in Oregon also is down.
And there's no good news on the horizon.
Source: BLS
Any particular obvious reason why Oregon is hit so badly? Somehow, it wasn't on my list of usual suspects. Did they have lots of construction jobs?
ReplyDeleteLooks that way. More detail now in the post...
ReplyDeleteI live in a far SW county (Josephine) in Oregon where official unemployment is 16%. Many in the county depend on welfare support. In the part of the county I live in (Illinois River Valley), there is especially high welfare support.
ReplyDeleteWhile employment in logging/saw mills has declined, that reflects a trend long underway, though delayed by the housing boom. Certain areas of Oregon such as Bend and Medford and in parts of the Portland area experienced a housing boom, that has now gone in reverse at high speed, costing jobs.
Some tech jobs lost in Portland, green jobs don't provide much, retail is gone and going down, loss of fishing jobs due to depleting salmon stocks . . . so add it all up, the picture is likely to remain bleak for some time. The State of Oregon is running an increasing deficit so layoffs/reduced hours are now underway in the public sector. Universities will be raising tuition and all faculty will have salaries reduced by roughly 5%. More layoffs in state, county and city governments coming.
I suspect the next leg up nationally in unemployment will come from public sector jobs.
The drop in manufacturing jobs shown in the chart looks nasty - 10 % of jobs lost in just one year.
ReplyDeleteouthouse- we appreciate the details. best of luck
ReplyDeletelol Umployeees
ReplyDelete