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| Oregon statewide unemployment rate for January 2009 | ||
| 02/26/2009 | ||
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Unemployment Rate Reaches 9.9 Percent CONTACT: David Cooke, Economist WorkSource Oregon Employment Department (503) 947-1272 Oregon’s Employment Situation: January 2009 Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent in January from under six percent in mid-2008. The state’s unemployment rate has risen rapidly and substantially over the past seven months. The U.S. seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent in January, from 7.2 percent in December. In January, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment declined by 14,600 jobs, following a drop of 10,400 (as revised) in December. Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data) In January, seasonally adjusted payroll employment dropped by 14,600 jobs. Job losses have averaged nearly 9,000 per month over the past six months, totaling 53,900 jobs or 3.1 percent. In January, six of Oregon’s eight largest industry sectors recorded substantial seasonally adjusted job declines: trade, transportation, and utilities (-4,500 jobs), manufacturing (-4,400), professional and business services (-2,200), construction (-2,100), leisure and hospitality (-1,900), and government (-1,100). Only one of these major industry sectors added jobs in January: educational and health services (+2,100 jobs). New seasonally adjusted payroll employment numbers back to 1997 are also released today. These new numbers show that Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment peaked in November and December 2007. Both months recorded the same figure of 1,738,100. This means that jobs started to decline in January 2008, rather than the originally estimated month of March 2008. Since December 2007, jobs have dropped by 63,100 or 3.6%. Trade, transportation, and utilities shed 16,700 jobs at the start of the year, when a loss of only 12,200 is the normal seasonal pattern. Retail trade continued its weaker than normal trend, cutting 11,300 jobs, which was 1,200 worse than the normal seasonal pattern. There was some hope that retail would rebound somewhat in January, the theory being that with fewer temporary workers hired for the holidays, fewer would be let go in January. This did not occur. Wholesale trade cut 600 jobs, which was 400 better than its normal January pattern. Major declines were seen in transportation, warehousing, and utilities, which cut 4,800 jobs in January, when the normal seasonal decline is only 1,100. The losses for the month were widespread within transportation and warehousing: air transportation (-200 jobs), truck transportation (-1,300), couriers and messengers (-1,700), and warehousing and storage (-400). Manufacturing experienced another month of large job losses. Employment dropped 5,900 jobs at a time of year when a loss of only 1,500 jobs is the normal seasonal pattern. Manufacturing dropped to 178,600 jobs, which was the first time it had been below 180,000 since comparable records started in 1990. Durable goods manufacturing shed 3,600 jobs, with losses mounting in wood products (-1,100 jobs), fabricated metal products (-700), machinery (-900), and computer and electronic products ( 500). Transportation equipment manufacturing held steady at 12,200 jobs, but is still down 4,100 since January 2008. Nondurable goods also saw a big drop of 2,300 jobs in January. This monthly loss could be a short-term pullback from an unusually high employment figure in November 2008. Over the longer term, nondurable goods has held seasonally adjusted employment levels close to 52,000 over the past six years. Professional and business services continued its slide that started at the end of last summer, cutting 6,800 jobs in January, a time of year when a loss of 4,600 is the normal seasonal pattern. The bulk of the losses came in administrative and support services, which shed 4,900 jobs. Within this industry category, losses were seen in employment services (-2,800 jobs), business support services (-1,000), and services to buildings and dwellings (-1,100). Employment services, a bellwether industry, employed 25,700 in January. This was down substantially from 38,600 in January 2006, its highest January level of the past seven years. Construction continued to post seasonally adjusted job declines of close to 1,300 per month, as it has done since late 2007. Seasonally adjusted employment declined to 85,900 in January, its lowest level in more than four years. All of the published component industries within construction posted job declines in January. Leisure and hospitality accelerated its downtrend with a loss of 5,800 jobs in January, when the normal seasonal movement is a loss of 3,900. All of the cuts came in accommodation and food services, which lost 6,400 jobs. This industry is at its lowest level since early 2006. In January, accommodation shed 1,800 jobs, while food services and drinking places cut 4,600. Meanwhile, arts, entertainment and recreation bucked the trend by adding 600. This industry is one of the few with over-the-year gains, having added 800 jobs since January 2008. Government dropped by 4,600 jobs in January, which was a bigger drop than the normal loss of 3,500 for the month. Each published sector was down for the month. Educational and health services cut only 2,500 jobs in January, when the industry normally sheds 4,600 due to seasonal factors. In private-sector educational services, employment dropped by only 1,500, when a loss of 4,600 is the normal change as several private colleges show a drop of employment in January during the winter break period. This year, those cuts were not as pronounced as usual, and we are looking for the February numbers to return to normal levels. Health care and social assistance posted a weak month, shedding 1,000 jobs. Each of the health care component industries cut for the month: ambulatory health care services (-500 jobs), hospitals (-200), and nursing and residential care facilities (-500). These losses were partially the result of several announced layoffs. Unemployment (Household Survey Data) In January, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent. With the rate rising so rapidly over the past several months and with the January rate in the nine-percent range, the following comparisons shed light on the nature of the situation.
This release incorporates revised labor force and unemployment numbers from 2004-2008. Each year, our labor force and unemployment data are updated to reflect additional data inputs and estimation techniques. These data are produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, based on the same methodology used by all states. Users should be cautious about comparing labor force and unemployment estimates for the current year to those for prior years. The Oregon Employment Department plans to release statewide unemployment rate and employment survey data for February 2009 on Monday, March 16, 2009. — end —
For the complete version of the news release, including tables and graphs, visit: www.QualityInfo.org/pressrelease. For help finding jobs and training resources, visit one of the state's WorkSource Oregon Centers or go to: www.WorkSourceOregon.org. Equal Opportunity program — auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. |
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