Unemployment rate holds on at 11.3 percent in October

It’s the lowest rate Oregon has seen since February’s 10.7 percent

Pamplin Media Group, Nov 16, 2009, Updated Nov 16, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Oregon’s unemployment rate hit 11.3 percent in October, nearly the same as September’s adjusted 11.3 percent.

That’s the lowest rate the state has seen since February, when it was 10.7 percent. It’s also a drop from May’s high of 12.2 percent.

State Employment Department officials said Monday morning that the state still lost about 1,900 jobs in October, but that was smaller than the previous seven months, when the state lost an average of 5,100 jobs.

“That’s smaller than what we’re accustomed to,” said Art Ayre, state employment economist.

That means 210,325 Oregonians were unemployed in October. A year ago, when the unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, 135,071 people were unemployed.

About 179,000 people are claiming unemployment benefits. Initial claims – those filed for the first time – reached about 12,000 last week, said Craig Spivey, Employment Department spokesman.

Most of those people are receiving regular unemployment benefits, Spivey said. About 40 percent of those are on extended benefits that end early next year, he said.

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