CONTACT:  Craig Spivey
March 20, 2012 Oregon Employment Department
 503-947-1303
 craig.c.spivey@state.or.us
 
Unemployment Insurance
Claims for regular unemployment insurance benefits continued a downward trend in February 2012. For the week ending February 25, 2012, initial claims are down almost 2,000 from the same week a year ago, and regular claims are down 10 percent from last year. 
 
The number of individuals receiving any type of unemployment insurance benefit has slipped 18 percent over the year.
 
Unemployment Extensions
The federal government recently made changes to two unemployment extension programs:  Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and Extended Benefits (EB).
 
Changes were made to the EUC program that will reduce the number of weeks of available benefits toward the end of 2012.  But for the most part, individuals currently on EUC will be able to collect up to 53 weeks of benefits spread out over four tiers.
 
The Employment Department was informed by the US Department of Labor that Oregon no longer qualifies for the Extended Benefits (EB) program.  With this announcement, the week ending April 7, 2012 will be the last week individuals may collect EB payments.  The program ending affects just over 8,300 individuals.  At this time there are no other unemployment benefits available to these individuals. Everyone affected by the ending of the EB program will be notified by the Employment Department.
 

Program	Week Ending February 25, 2012	Same Week 2011
Initial Claims	7,303	9,176
Regular Unemployment Benefits	69,912	77,752
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC)	48,473	64,130
Extended Benefits (EB)	8,306	13,182
Total on all programs	133,032	163,206

Total Benefits Paid Out

$37,597,078

$45,207,216

 

State Trust Fund Balance (in millions)

$1,090.83

$902.23

 
Employment and iMatchSkills
WorkSource Oregon continues to work to provide tools and assistance to job seekers.  As of March 20, 2012, WorkSource Oregon lists 6,968 job listings representing 11,694 job openings in its iMatchSkills system.
 
Each week staff in WorkSource Oregon centers contact job seekers in their area who are about to exhaust all of their unemployment benefits. This is done to actively engage the unemployed in their job search informing them of available services.
 
WorkSource Oregon Centers statewide offer a variety of services for the job seeker including assistance with resume writing, job search, skills training, and more.  In addition, job seekers can learn about job fairs and other events online at www.WorkingInOregon.org.
 
Below is a listing of the top job openings by occupation and occupational group as listed in iMatchSkills.
 

Job Listings	Occupational Group
851	Office and Administrative Support
774	Sales
642	Management
459	Food Preparation and Serving
450	Supervisory
416	Computer and Mathematical
414	Architecture and Engineering
380	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
329	Business and Financial
312	Transportation

 

Job Listings	Occupational Codes
218	Retail Salespersons
197	Customer Service Representatives
166	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
135	1st-Line Sup. of Food Prep. & Serving Workers
129	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
104	Tellers
101	Registered Nurses
95	Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
95	Financial Managers
90	Personal Care Aides