Bulletin E-Edition:
Central Oregon jobless rates dip
Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson counties all see unemployment improvement
By David Holley / The Bulletin
Published: March 10. 2010 4:00AM PSTJobless rates dropped in January for Central Oregon’s three counties to levels nearing lows of early 2009 — which were highs at the time.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in Deschutes and Jefferson counties now sit at 13.4 percent, down from December by 1.2 and 0.9 percentage points, respectively. Crook County’s jobless rate fell 1.9 percentage points to 15.9 percent, which is the highest in Oregon.
Those rates are only slightly higher than January 2009, when Jefferson County had risen to 13 percent, Deschutes County was at 12.3 percent and Crook County’s unemployment rate was 15.1 percent. Unemployment rates continued to rise throughout 2009 to highs during late spring and have since declined.
Oregon’s rate remained relatively flat from December 2009, rising by 0.1 percentage point to 10.7 percent for January. The U.S. rate is 9.7 percent.
A drop in unemployment rates may be a sign of the economy switching back to more typical employment trends, said Carolyn Eagan, the Oregon Employment Department’s regional economist for Central Oregon.
January and other winter months typically show job losses even in good economic times. For January 2010, Eagan said it appears as if those losses were fewer than during the same month in previous years.
Deschutes County lost more than 1,800 jobs from December 2009 to January 2010.
During the same period a year ago, it lost more than 2,500 jobs, according to the Employment Department.
The smaller number this winter is a positive sign, Eagan said. She said Deschutes County’s loss of 1,800 jobs from December is closer to the numbers from more stable years, before the housing boom and economic downfall.
“I think that the spring months are going to tell us if we are going to continue on this trend of being back on this more typical seasonal employment movement,” Eagan said.
Both sides of the unemployment story — people who are finding work and those who are still searching — are prevalent at WorkSource Central Oregon’s east-Bend office.
Catrina Hoopes has been unemployed for more than a month but believes that will soon change.
The 29-year-old medical assistant has had two job interviews in the past few weeks and was using a WorkSource computer and printer Tuesday to write follow-up letters to the two firms at which she applied. Even if neither job works out, Hoopes remains optimistic.
“I’ve got a lot of prospects,” she said.
Art Bigelow’s home mortgage, car payment and camper payment have killed most of his optimism. Even if he found a job right away, Bigelow said it would have to pay enough to cover those costs, plus other living expenses.
That means minimum wage probably won’t do.
“There’s not a whole lot of jobs out there,” said Bigelow, 52, who’s been out of work for two months. “They’re not hiring.”
Experience in various management roles is what Linda Youker believes helped her land two part-time jobs midway through 2009, after she had been without work for nearly six months. The assistance of WorkSource — which advised her during her job search — and Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council — which helped Youker land a scholarship to Central Oregon Community College as a full-time student — has been invaluable, too, said Youker, who was looking up information for work.
“I start to cry, thinking about it,” she said. “They’ve just been encouraging nonstop.”
David Holley can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at dholley@bendbulletin.com.
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